Making an AirField

[OLtos]

Hi,

I have been tinkering with the airfield shape group AFFwd-1.  Somehow I dinked it and now if I land at one all I can do is get a "ditched" message.

I read through the Helpless file... err Help File, and it said that to make a field landable you need to create a runway object.  So here is what I am doing that is not working.

Go to the Objects tool.
Select the point I want my object.
From the SHAPES list
(not the shapes group list)
I choose a runway shape. (I have tried other shapes like the OILDIRT shape or the REARM Shape)

When I get the object properties dialog I leave everything as it defaults except I change the object type to runway.

Save, rebuild, test.  The runway keeps giving me a message of ditched if I land on it.

I also noticed that if I place a rearm object and give it a rearm object type it does not activate either as they do on-line.

The presumption here is that I am screwing it up somewhere.  I just can't figure out where.

Thank you

[pokie]

Hello OLtos

Make sure that the "Can Collide" box is checked for the Runway and ReArm Pads.

Pokie

[OLtos]

I tried that and it did not work.

Arg!  I was just messing with this as I was writing this.  It's the "field owned" box!  I kept putting the LETTER I saw on the map as part of the field number.  This is apparently WRONG!  I put the field number in without the letter in front and the rearm worked.  Now to check the runway thing . . . OK!  that seems to FAIL for runways.

What is the trick to getting a runway objects to act like a runway object.  Simply picking that property from the object type list and making sure the field owned value is correct does not seem to do the trick.  Is the runway field owned or country owned?  From the object number the guess is field.  I even tried making it country owned, but I had to guess what country is represented by what numeric value, (the presumption is either 1,2or3).

[pokie]

Some of the Object Types require the proper Shape.

Object Type "Runways" need Runways or Airfields shapes.  Plus if you land you need to land on the Runway ( pavement ).

"Try running a HTC terrain in Offline mode, takeoff from a runway spawn point, taxi a bit and just turn left or right just off of the pavement and exit plane.  Type .ef "Did you get   You have Ditched".  Now try the spawn point again on the Runway but taxi straight a bit and then exit plane.  Did you get "you have landed successfully"



Same as Object Type "ReArm" you can ownly use the ReArm pad shape for it to work.

This isn't true for everything and there is no list that I know of to explain this.

Pokie

[OLtos]

Hi

Thanks for the resonse.  

Actually I can get "...landed successully" messages at other airfields on this terrain!  They work fine in other terrains off-line as well.  The only problem I am having is with the runway objects I try to create.  Hmm, what I have been using is the shape "runway".  I think I will try some of the other runway shapes and see if they will do the trick.  If so it kind of defeats the purpose of the tiny "Forward" airfields altogether unless I am just going to use them as rearm points.

[OLtos]

Darn,

Well I tried using other "runway" shapes, but I keep getting the same thing.  No runway that I create works.  Only the runways on the prebuilt bases work, except for the one I seem to have broken.  Reinstalling the editor to get that back seems to be my best option now.

Once again thanks for the time you have spent answering me.

[OLtos]

Curioser and curioser,

I have reinstalled.  It seems I spoke prematurely when I said other runways on prebuilt bases actualy work.  Many do not.  In fact, so far, the only shape group I have tried that has runways that actually give you a "...landed..." message when you end flight is one of the mediums.  The small bases with the dirt runways don't work, neither does the default AFFwd-1 shape group.  This is beginning to look like a nasty little BUG is what it's starting to look like.  Oh well, I will just have to rethink my field layouts since I think it unlikely that the HitechCreation folks will go out of their way to fix this.  It is freeware after all.

[pokie]

OLtos

If you want you can send me the .oba file for your terrain and I'll have a look at it.

tscott@accesswave.ca

Pokie

[OLtos]

Well I solved a PART of my mystery.

Before you build you have to go to the settings menu, choose Field Setup and in there you have to click on the "enable all fields" button.  That works to get all the 'S' fields landable anyway.  
As for creating landable runways myself from the shapes list, that still won't work.  Attached is a simple terrain.  One small island. The AFFwd-1 airfield shape group modified by removing the FACTDIRT shape from it, adding a plane selection hangar adding a "runway" shape, making sure that object type "runway" was selected for it.  Last I moved the entpnt to the end of the runway.  All this has been assigned ownership to field1.  "enable all fields" has been set in the field settings.  You Enter this airfield at the entpnt and end flight, you recieve a "...ditched" message.  On a normal airfield with properly working runways I get a "..landed..." message.

Thank you for the help.

[pokie]

Originally posted by OLtos
Well I solved a PART of my mystery.

Before you build you have to go to the settings menu, choose Field Setup and in there you have to click on the "enable all fields" button.  That works to get all the 'S' fields landable anyway.  
Thank you for the help.

This step has nothing to do with it OLtos, but good try in trying to fix this problem.  

All that does is you can select a plane and make it "available" or "unavailable" for all fields, just saves you from going to each field one by one to eliminate or add a plane.  

All "S" standard field do not have any problems with them thats why you don't get the "ditched message".

Also because they are using ***FLD's not Runways

If you make an Airfield using the following shape you will get the "landed safely" message.

LAIRFLD
LARFLD2
MAIRFLD
MARFLD2
SAIRFLD
SARFLD2

//////////////////////////////////

Also watch out for the following Group Objects airfields because they don't have maproom sets  ( maproom + maptable)

I believe this is because they were to be joined with fldcap1 which has the maproom set.

lgfld2
medfld2
smfld

/////////////////////////////////

There are some also some major and minor bugs with the following fields.  So watch out for them:    

AFDbl-1  
AFFwd-1  
AFLrg-1  
AFMed-1  
drtfield  
port2  
portR2  
vfield2  
VFMed-1

Most of the major problems are with the map rooms.

This is how Map Room Set are suppose to be setup as:

maptable=MAPTBL1 (shape name)   is set as Map Room (object type)  

and

maproom=MPRM1 (shape name)   is set as Void (object type)

Remember to uncheck the "Can Collide" box for both of these items, if not you can capture a field but just shooting the Map Room.

Pokie

[OLtos]

Hi,

Thanks for the headsup on the airfield shape groups.  I have no idea what happened with that enable all fields button.  But, I found what you said about it in the help file.  All I actually know is that I had some regular S class fields that wouldn't work, then I clicked that button and they worked.  It was actually probably gremlins that did it.  In any event this means I have to rethink my little arena.  Oh well.

Thanks again for all the help.

[pokie]

Hello OLtos

Are you still looking to use the Dirt style runways and have them not give you the  Ditched Message.

Pokie