Misc Mission System Wishes

[CptTrips]

Hitech asked to post ant additional ideas for the mission system, so…I’m just putting a list here so I don’t clog up the Wishlist.

In addition to the other recent requests:
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,398914.0.html
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,398912.0.html
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,398911.0.html
https://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,398670.0.html


1.  Improved runout segment behavior:  I have never gotten this to work as expected.  What I’d like is it to automatically transition from the previous landing segment speed to a taxi speed.  What I want is to have a landing segment, then a runout segment that decelerates to taxi speed, and then taxi off the runway to a hangar.  I’ve never found a way to make this work.

2.  Improved roll-delay behavior.  If roll delay is a few seconds then things work OK.  However, if I want to start the mission and have one flight take off and I don’t want some other flight to take of until 4 minutes later, things don’t work well.

If you watch the mission play out in the editor, you see a navigation marker object (just what I call it) that moves along the route path the specified segment speed.  The AI aircraft chase that nav marker like hounds chasing a rabbit.    However the nav marker doesn’t obey the roll delay.  It just takes off.   When the roll delay is short, that still works pretty good.   If the delay was long, the marker is totally in a silly place for the AI to chase and everything falls apart. 

3.  Improved AI self-preservation:  Regardless of the segment type, or whether, two other AI have already targeted an enemy, if enemy round are coming within a certain radius of their position they should maneuver defensively.  To happen upon and AI in cruise segment, or when two other AI are chasing you, and just fly straight while you start pinging them, just harms the suspension of disbelief.

4.  I would love a dive bomb segment type where a diver bomber performs a reasonable approximation of a proper maneuver.   I’ve lever got stuka’s doing anything that just didn’t looks silly.

5.  Have a Mission Group Properties checkbox controlling if AI should receive damage from AAA. Sometimes I’d want that.

6.  Have a “Recalc-All” action on routes.  If I move around waypoints, then execute this, it would iterate over all segments and perform a “Fill Segment to End” and “Calculate” on each and update each segments listed start time based on the new calc.

7.  Infantry position ground targets:  They don’t move. They are foxholes and sand-bagged machine gun and motor positions.  Maybe platoon size.  They have an icon to help spot them and can be strafed and bombed and destroyed for mission objectives/points.

8.  Waypoint distance callout.  When placing waypoints, a callout floats above the mouse cursor showing the distance between the current mouse cursor position and last waypoint.  The distance is formatted in ft until it reaches 1 miles and then in miles.  Like “(100 mi)”.  When moving a waypoint, there will be two values if there are waypoints before and after the one being moved, like “(100 mi, 3456 ft)”

9.  The ability to drop a ruler on the ME view to measure anything.  To determine where to place waypoints a certain distance from objects or other flights.

10.  Per flight text events.  I would like to target certain text events to certain flights.

11. Global text events.  I’d like to be able to evoke text events that are seen by both countries.

12.  For Global and country level text events, have a checkbox controlling if those are to also be seen by arena players not assigned in the mission. (Normal text buffer.)

That’s a good start.  I’ll come up with more some other time. 

13.  Oh yeah, forgot.  Time compression for offline missions. 

[CptTrips]

I was thinking more about #2 above....

I guess the Roll Delay needs to work as it does now.  If there are multiple flights assigned to the route, and some of the flights have no roll delay, the nav marker needs to start moving immediately.   Say you have 3 flights on a route.  The first flight has no Roll Delay and starts taxing to chase the nav marker immediately.  The second flight has 4 sec Roll Delay and rolls in behind the first flight, the last has an 8 sec Roll Delay and starts taxing last.  But the nav marker needed to start moving immediately so the first flight with no Roll Delay could start chasing it.

I guess what I really need is a "Route Delay" in the Route Properties.  A time delay that will control when the nav marker starts moving along the route path.  Roll Delays would be dependent on the Route Delay.  They wouldn't start counting until the Route Delay has expired.  So if there was a Route Delay of 5 min and a flight had a Roll Delay of 10 sec, the flight wouldn't actually start rolling until 05:10 after the start of the mission.

Also, have a "Delay Spawn" checkbox Route Properties.  That would control if the flights is spawned and visible during the Route Delay or if it is not spawned until the Route Delay expires. 


You asked. 
 

[CptTrips]

14.  Oh, and dot command events.   

[CptTrips]

15.  Currently the mission briefing screen has some kind of overlay poly that I think is supposed to simulate the effect of a spotlight hitting the map display/projector screen.  That tends to wash out the bit depth of displayed image badly, often losing complete details.

I'd suggest that when the curtain open event occurs, the room lights dim and the image display surface is emmisive like the images are being projected from the projector that is in the middle of the room.  It doesn't need a spotlight shining on it.

[CptTrips]

16.  In the Mission Arena you had the ability to go to the Populate dialog and re-assign yourself to take over a different AI aircraft.  So I suspect the basic capability is there and just needs to be exposed...

In offline mode, I'd like to have keys to hit that would transfer me to take over other aircraft.  Continuing to hit the key keeps cycling me through all the planes on my side.  A second key allows me to cycle the list in the other direction.  So I may want to be in a dive bomber at the first of the mission and drop a bomb, then switch to one of the fighter escort to cover the retreating bombers, etc.

Also, for extra credit, a third key to allow me to switch to the other side.  So I not only could jump between aircraft during the mission, but jump between countries as well.

 

[CptTrips]

17.  Damage indicator in Mission Populate screen:    If Fortress Europe event, the CM was able to re-insert players who had died back into the mission and take over another AI plane already in flight.  This worked great.  In the Populate dialog there is a green check-mark next to AI that are alive and airborne. 

Perhaps have that check-mark show yellow if the AI is damaged.  (or red if heavily damaged?)   If the CM is not with the formation to visually check, it is a little rude to stick a player into an almost dead plane. 

[CptTrips]

18.  Area Defense segment type.  A new segment type that would enable an additional field "radius (ft)" that would cause the AI to orbit that waypoint as close to the specified radius as it can manage and attack any enemy aircraft that come within 3000 yd.  That behavior would continue for the time duration of that segment before moving on to the next waypoint.