Helicoter insertion

[Mizilus]

I have been trying and trying this and havent had much luck.


Myself and my group are split up between two huey's and I have six more groups of AI infantry and we are all riding in AI choppers. I can get everyone incargo and start the mission with the choppers flying. The choppers fly pretty good along their waypoints and then when we get to the DZ only the two choppers with the guys I control land so we can get out. The other choppers slow down and hover for a second where they are supposed to land, and then they turn and fly off even if they dont have any further waypoints.

I want us all to land at roughly the same time and all get out. Then I want the AI squads to assault a hill. I guess I have the waypoints for the infantry screwed up or something.

Also, would I need a helipad for each chopper?

[THobson]

My car won't start - can you help?

I think you need to tell us what you are doing before we can tell you what might be wrong.

I use one helipad per chopper.  Why not get them to parachute in?  It really is a lot easier.

[Mizilus]

Well its kind of a "historical" air cav insertion in Nam. I think you can count the number of combat jumps in Nam on one hand with a couple of fingers missing. I'm trying to land a few hueys full of dudes near the base of a hill, have the dudes get out, and then assault the hill.

Sorry for the dumb questions but I'm not a programmer and I have run out of guesses in the editor considering it basically has no instructions and I dont know what I'm doing. And yes, I have utilized all of the resources available here. I have compiled a huge file from the info here and it has helped me a lot.

[THobson]

I am sure you have done a lot.  I remember what it was like not knowing what to do.

It would help us to help you if you could tell us things like:
what waypouints have you got for the ai infantry and the ai choppers; what waypoints you have synchronised; what instructions you are giving to infantry and choppers in their waypoints;  what you have done about putting H objects on the map.

I am assuming you have done the following:
infantry group:
- moveInCargo at the start of the mission
- given a Get Out waypoint near an H (or invisible H) object
- given subsequent waypoints to deal with their subsequent attack

chopper:
- given a Transport Unload waypoint near/on the H or invisible H object
- given subsequent waypoints to deal with their behaviour after dropping the infantry

Synchronised the infantry Get Out waypoint with the chopper's Transport Unload waypoint

Now if you have done all that for several choppers and you are having a problem it could be they are interacting with each other.

[macguba]

It's very difficult to make choppers do what you want.   Use one of the chopper scripts in the Editors Depot.

Keep the choppers physically as far apart as you can.  Each one should be in its own group.

I suggest you leave this part of the mission for now, and come back to it later when you have a firmer grasp of the basics.  It's not a good place to start.

[RangerX3X]

I personally like to use the transport unload waypoint for a chopper using the setting of "careless" in that waypoint, so the bird lands and unloads even if it is taking fire.

Once the drop off is complete, if you have additional waypoints for the bird you can set them to "aware" or "combat" as appropriate.

For all pickups and drop offs I use "careless".

[THobson]

Excellent point.  Setting it to 'careless' is something I always forget and then only remember when there is a problem.  I also set it to 'never fire' so it doesn't decide to start getting involved itself.

[Kyle Sarnik]

Excellent point.  Setting it to 'careless' is something I always forget and then only remember when there is a problem.  I also set it to 'never fire' so it doesn't decide to start getting involved itself.

You don't have to set it to never fire if its on careless. Its better to leave it at fire at will, that way it will engage enemy troops giving you a more realistic nam experience. I did the same mission not too long ago, and yes you MUST have an H for EACH helicopter (especialy if the LZ is surrounded by trees and forests) or else the first choppers will occupy all of the H's and the rest won't have anywhere to land, which means they have to stop and wait for one to become clear, and usualy if they can't land the first time then they won't bother sticking around, that is if you are using only waypoints. My suggestion is to use a script, that will command the helicopter to land, and then force it to wait until the troops are unloaded before leaving, something a transport unload waypoint can't do.

[Mizilus]

Well I have tried pretty much everything. As to the chopper I have tried careless and aware. Limited speed as well as normal. I have invisible "H"'s for each chopper. Since they begin the mission in flight I have tried unload as well as transport and unload at the DZ. I've tried adjusting the distance between one chopper and the next and where the waypoints are set in their approach to the DZ. Like I may have mentioned before I dont know scripts from a hole in the ground.

One thing that just came to mind; should I place the infantry that is incargo on the map as though they are at the unload point and then assign their waypoints from there? I can remember one point during this trial and error that the waypoints seemed to be confused between the two.

With all of your help I have finally been able to get a pretty good idea how to set waypoints and patrols and such. I was pretty thrilled to get choppers to start in the air with infantry aboard. It was just the next six hours of trying to get them to land and unload that killed me.

[Raptorsaurus]

I am working on a script pack called Chopper_Fast_land.  It includes a script that will make a chopper land very quicly where and when you want it to (it will land within 1 meter of the target without a heli-pad).  Also in the script pack are scripts for doing fast roping with multiple ropes, rope-ladder extraction with multiple ladders, para drops and a script that makes a chopper with a side gun circle a target with the gun side facing the target!  For your situation, just the fastland.sqs script (which is complete) will suffice, so I will shoot that to you as soon as I get home.  Sui also did some nice chopper landing scripts, but I think my script is a bit easier to use, also it allows a chopper to deviate from editor waypoints, then resume the waypoints after it has dropped off or picked up units.

[Mizilus]

That sounds like just what I need. I would appreciate that very much and it sounds like a handy thing to keep around. I'll keep an eye out.

[Raptorsaurus]

Mizilus,

Here it is.  In the zip file are the FastLand.sqs script, the functions (in a functions folder), and example init.sqs (for initializing the functions) and two other scripts (gen_load.sqs and gen_unload.sqs).  These scripts are generalized script for loading or unloading from any vehicle.  Read the instructions in the scripts (I put the detailed instructions after the final exit command in the scripts).  I hope this helps you out, if you have any problems implementing these, then PM me.

[Mizilus]

Thanks man. Ill be trying it first thing in the morning.