Starting a mission airborne for a parachute drop

[Preacher]

Guys,

After pissing away about 5 or 6 hours trying to figure out how to start a mission airborne AND allow equipment selection on the briefing screen, I have discovered the following about ArmA:


You can put units in aircraft at the start of the mission by making an aircraft part of the player group, then selecting "In Cargo" for each of the player units. They will automatically start in the aircraft. The problem with this is the aircraft will ignore all intermediate waypoints!! and head to the last waypoint (which is no good if you don't want to move in a straight line). I don't know if this is a bug or a feature. Plus this is no good if you have multiple groups.
An alternative is to run a script in the init line for each player unit or the init.sqf. The problem with this is that you no longer get a list of players in the weapon selection screen during the briefing, so you can't select any weapons. Grrr. This is a known issue on the BI forums.
I finally got it working by using a trigger that teleports player units into a flying aircraft at the start of the game.

And some other info that relates to this:


One of the issues with starting in choppers or VTOLs is that they are stationary when they spawn, so they instantly nose down to gain speed, then bob back up again which destroys the illusion of starting the mission in mid-flight. Velocity is configured as an X,Y,Z vector, so I configured a temporary trigger halfway along the first waypoint that get the vector, then dumped it to the screen in a text hint (I'll post the code later). I then used this info to set the vector in the aircraft's init field so it is moving along the waypoint path when it is created.
Another aircraft issue is that although you can use flyInHeight to set the height that it will fly in, it ALWAYS starts at the default height of 20 metres and moves towards the configured flyInHeight. You have to set the aircraft's position manually in the init field using getPosition[x,y,z] and then doing a setPosition[x,y,z+height increase]. (This isn't the exact code, just a conceptual example).

So! The next step is working through the list of pre-configured equipment then we're all set for a HALO drop mission from an Osprey.

[Zeddy]

I used the script method for the aborted mission I put together. This involved naming the chopper1. If I recall correctly the following command was used in the initialisation line:

this MoveInCargo chopper1

The chopper unit itself I set as an AI pilot with waypoints. The ZSU units and chopper unit were separate groups. This let the pilot fly over the drop zone before turning around and speeding away. This does present the problem of what happens to people who don't jump though. I couldn't find a way past that one, and just hoped that everyone would jump out at the appropriate time. I did juggle with the idea of forcing remaining people to jump by using SetFuel to zero, but figured it might be considered cruel. :32:

I did encounter a problem with the selectable loadouts but at the time put it down to my own n00bness. That's why I used custom .sqs files for each ZSU unit with a preconfigured loadout. Obviously mine is a cautionary tale to double and triple check the .sqs files before compiling them into a .pbo, and make sure everyone has a chute!

An issue I had with the FlyInHeight command was that if you wanted a nice big freefall (eg HALO), the chopper pilot AI swings back and forth like he's on crack on the way up there. I did further reading later, and I do believe the SetPosition trick you had is definitely the go.

[Zeddy]

Also, I was unable to track down what was causing the crash to desktop for so many people that night.

My mission is definitely a cautionary tale, huh? :10:

[Preacher]

This does present the problem of what happens to people who don't jump though. I couldn't find a way past that one, and just hoped that everyone would jump out at the appropriate time. I did juggle with the idea of forcing remaining people to jump by using SetFuel to zero, but figured it might be considered cruel. :32:Haha.. cruel but funny. I would prefer to force people out with a trigger if they haven't jumped by a certain point, but I'll have to research a method. What did you do with the choppers once people jumped? I am going to run a script to kill my Osprey once it's flown out of range.


I did encounter a problem with the selectable loadouts but at the time put it down to my own n00bness. No, it was BI stupidity. :)


That's why I used custom .sqs files for each ZSU unit with a preconfigured loadout. Obviously mine is a cautionary tale to double and triple check the .sqs files before compiling them into a .pbo, and make sure everyone has a chute!One option is a very simple preconfigured load-out of sub machine guns perhaps, with a rendezvous at an ammo airdrop (I'm sure there are scripts to do this) before starting the assault.


An issue I had with the FlyInHeight command was that if you wanted a nice big freefall (eg HALO), the chopper pilot AI swings back and forth like he's on crack on the way up there. I did further reading later, and I do believe the SetPosition trick you had is definitely the go.setPosition is the way to go. Works perfectly. And setting the velocity vector makes for a smooth start.

[Preacher]

Also, I was unable to track down what was causing the crash to desktop for so many people that night.

It was most likely ACE 1.02 which had a crash-to-desktop texture bug. So don't stress :)

[Victim]

As always there's an enormous amount of effort that goes on behind the scenes to get these missions up and running. Just letting you know we're all really grateful for the effort.

Can't wait to do a HALO jump at dusk (just enough light to see).

I'm thinking we should probably practice how the whole parachute thing works before we do the mission. It would be really annoying to have half the team crater simply because they're unfamiliar with how to jump, fall, deploy and land.

[Preacher]

As always there's an enormous amount of effort that goes on behind the scenes to get these missions up and running. Just letting you know we're all really grateful for the effort.

THANKS!! We appreciate your appreciation :)


Can't wait to do a HALO jump at dusk (just enough light to see).

Same here!


I'm thinking we should probably practice how the whole parachute thing works before we do the mission. It would be really annoying to have half the team crater simply because they're unfamiliar with how to jump, fall, deploy and land.

Yeah, I totally agree. The first time I did it in Zeddy's mission, I was marvelling at how I could steer and change my decent rate when WHAM!!!! That would be the ground.... Definitely need to practice.

[Zeddy]

Haha.. cruel but funny. I would prefer to force people out with a trigger if they haven't jumped by a certain point, but I'll have to research a method. What did you do with the choppers once people jumped? I am going to run a script to kill my Osprey once it's flown out of range.

From what I recall I just flew them off to a remote island and put down a land waypoint. To be honest only made sure they made it out of the insertion zone, after that I wasn't concerned with their survival. The exception was one AI chopper that was meant to be carrying ZSU bravo. I littered them all over the landscape with a burning chopper as a plot device, which unfortunately never got seen.


One option is a very simple preconfigured load-out of sub machine guns perhaps, with a rendezvous at an ammo airdrop (I'm sure there are scripts to do this) before starting the assault.

This would work well in a heavily forested area, like the one we were meant to jump in last time. MP5s are zeroed at 50m IIRC, which would put us at a severe disadvantage on open fields against the AI.

I had a funny editing experience last night... whacked down a chopper patrol over the sea. During testing I flew past in an apache... no patrol. I then grabbed a boat, drove past again. No patrol.

Finally I set myself as a gunner in the heli patrol and hit preview. Promptly drowned. I forget to check the "in flight" option. :68:

[Rico]

It was most likely ACE 1.02 which had a crash-to-desktop texture bug. So don't stress :)

I'd put my money on ACE itself, it has its own 'revive' script and I recall you put a revive script in, I can almost guarentee a conflict. So either 1 or the other IMO.

[Zeddy]

Yeah, I totally agree. The first time I did it in Zeddy's mission, I was marvelling at how I could steer and change my decent rate when WHAM!!!! That would be the ground.... Definitely need to practice.

After pancaking a few times, I think I figured out the key points:

Pull ripcord <--- most important, most people don't look for the option If doing it in a hostile situation, pull the cord as close as safely possible near the ground. Shilkas especially love to ventilate you while you're hanging your nylons out to dry. ^_^ Avoid trees, buildings and steep upwards slopes. I think the last is the least obvious, but going up a slope while landing seems to cause frequent injuries Descend as fast as you like but before you land, I recommend yanking back hard to slow your descent to the minimum possible, again to avoid injury.

We should definitely have a training night to go over jumps, fireteam movement, piloting, etc. Maybe once a month?

[Rico]

I'd say leave it to each person to learn, after all if they dont their the ones that feel silly :26: