Paradropping Vehicles

[Hellfish6.2]

Hi guys

I'm attempting to create a mission where there is a Soviet airborne assault on Nogova, where an aircraft begins in the air and drops a BMD for a parachute landing. I'm using David Berka's Heli4drop Script. I'm able to get the BMD carried by the aircraft, but I am unable to figure out how to set the trigger to have the plane drop the vehicle. Here is what the description of the script says:

Now you only have to set the variable release1 to 1 (using triggers or waypoint commands) and the chopper will drop the cargo.


If you need more transport choppers, dropping their cargo at different times (e.g. in a intro), you'll have to make several copies of the script and do some simple editing. helidrop.sqs contains following line:


? (release1 == 1) : goto "Drop"

where

release1 is the drop variable


Now you could make several copies of helidrop.sqs with the drop variables release1, release2 ... releaseX, and if you set releaseX to 1 the chopper(s) using this variable will drop their cargo.

How do I set up a variable? I know this should probably be really easy, but I can't seem to do it.

Thanks for any help

[macguba]

Yep, this is one of these things when the answer is really easy once you know, but really hard if you don't.   I don't know the script in question but from what you've said this should help.

Create a trigger over the drop zone.    Now go into Groups mode (F2) and drag a line from the trigger to the chopper.   Check out the activation box in the trigger and fix it how you want.     In the "On activation" field of the trigger write

release1=1

And that should do the trick.   Script starts, chopper carries vehicle, gets to trigger area, trigger fires, variable is set to 1 and drop occurs.

Alternatively, if you want the drop to occur at a waypoint, write release1=1 in the on activation field of the chopper waypoint.

OFP considers any undefined variable to be false.   However any expression including the variable (for example a sequence of ANDs or ORs) is also considered to be false.    For this reason it is sometimes desirable to define a variable in init.sqs, though in this case it is not necessary.    Defining a variable just means writing

variablename=something

where something can be a number, or true or false, or another variable or whatever.      As you have probably gathered by now you can write it wherever you want, script file, unit's init field, waypoint etc.

I hope that is all clear and helpful, ask again if not.