3 Commando Brigade

Enemy Air Capabilities

We have the SU-22 for 2nd and 3rd tier OpFor. It's remarkably capable if controlled by zeus. Even I can cause some pretty scary moments for BluFor flying the "Tank".

However we don't have a modern jet yet. The Su-35 would be my recommendation - (by the same people who did the excellent FA-18) Apollo and I have discussed it in the past, just never found time to include it - I have a part complete Sahrani scenario with it on.

We can try and include it for the next modern conflict mission.

It's worth pointing out that ALiVE does not handle fixed wing well - they don't spawn properly or react well to Ai control. You really need a Zeus to do a good job with Fixed wing fast movers.

Another pain with the way we have our missions setup is that any Ai Controlled Fast mover is inexorably drawn towards our em-placed AAA Base defense and subsequently gets wiped out in short order.

So in summary - yes we do have them, but the Autonomous mission scripting doesn't use them - they need an active Zeus to use with the way we have it setup.

Perhaps there is an option here for some clever scripting by our experts. *DOM* cough.

What I would like is the ability to randomly generate an Air-threat, based on BluFor penetrating an Editor placed marker  (Similar to how our IED script works). The script would generate a jet at the nearest enemy held airbase. Taxi it (with the option to have it start and fly in from off the map for non Aircraft capable maps) and have it randomly attack or harass Blufor forces. With random chances or skill levels.

If that script could be constructed with an array where we can load in air-craft names etc to pull from our existing pool available ?

SJ

So the maps we run have no fixed air on them. ALiVE cannot control them properly. (there is limited support but we've never got them to behave properly) *DOM* cough - get cracking

With their higher speed and orbit radii, Fixed wing Ai Pilots will identify our AAA threat quickly on all but the largest of maps and then Kamikaze towards our base defense. They are also poor at identifying Infantry threats. Preferring vehicle or BluFor aerial targets that show-up on radar. We would ideally need that script to get them to try and strafe, dive bomb etc.

So how I do it is as follows 

I normally try and create a scenario where we have OpFor units being put under extreme threat... i.e. a big 20+ contingent of pubic players lands near a town and starts munching quickly through the OpFor defences. Especially if they have fixed wing or helicopter support.

I personally think all the manpads are relatively unrealistic, especially for 2nd or 3rd tier OpFor, they are very complex and difficult weapon systems to field in real life - and Highly unlikely to be effective unless the operator is highly skilled. A 2nd or 3rd teir nation is far more likely to throw up some old Mig 21's Mig 23's or Su-22's 24's - that's a really credible and genuine threat we see over Libya, Syria, Iraq etc. 

So I launch up a strike wing of Su-25's or better still the Su-22, that has an AA, AG and lots of Boom Boom super-sonic punch - it will out climb and accelerate the harrier most time's I've gone head to head with them.

I then basically try and follow a theatrical OpFor strike. Buzz the AO try to spot any Blufor (normally miss by quite a long way, but close enough to occasionally cause secondary wounding etc.) I'd never precisely target a section. But a Fixed wing pilot is fair game.... Will try and harass rotary birds. In real life the speed differential and ground clutter makes a fast wing (of that vintage) attack on a rotary chopper very difficult, so I will simulate again low level buzzing to try and find them and horrible cannon fire to scare the bejeezus out of the pilot (normally ends up in me crashing into the sea!)

BluFor rarely if ever manage this situation well. There is lots of panic and shouts for CAS/CAP - which inevitably enables me to cause pandemonium for a good 10+ minutes until someone manages to find a dropped Igla/Strela and have at it... However with the S-22 it's so fast and controllable at low level (even for a CRAP pilot like me who flies with the mouse) that I can normally evade Manpads, or indeed give them such a short window of opportunity I'm normally over the horizon before they can get a shot off.

It's lots of fun and quite rewarding to see how the BluFor team react - but not something that is available without a real Pilot *DOM!* cough

Is it possible to spawn cached Alive units with something in their init line? If so, it is possible that we could use the standalone GAIA script to solve the issue. It handles air units quite well.

No idea... hopefully between us all if we reach out there may well be something suitable already coded... If not perhaps we can get something simple created by our own Coding gods.. ?

The idea of attaching GAIA is a good one. Where is the basic script held ? Can it be called to run on specified units only i.e with an init call ?

Ideally I'd love to see a GAIA based alive replacement. Just a caching system, AI command and reinforcement. No persistence, no annoying splash screens no metal bands ^^ and no logistics/drag system, no 'advanced map markers', no CI2STAR just a simple but effective high level AI

The GAIA script can be downloaded from a thread on the BIS forum. I think it is in the editing / scripting section, although a search might be easier. You put down a marker on a map, and units given an init command (such as to attack / defend / garrison that marker) are handled by GAIA - which is why I was asking if ALIVE cached units can be made to spawn with an init command. If they can, they would 'communicate' with each other when spawned, or call on assets elsewhere on the map that could be left puposely uncached (one or two air units at a distant airfield / mortar position). That asset would then be called in to help.

It might be worth asking in the ALIVE / GAIA thread (or checking previous posts) to see if anyone has tried it already. I am certain air units will be an issue for anyone using ALIVE.

Alex I think that's a tad Naive. Who places the units down. Who decides where they attack and why. What decides the weighting of the force. (the splash screen is Gone, and so is the metal band... so no idea why you're raising that. I do sometimes wonder if ANYTHING in our current setup is suitable for you... Everything seems broken or needs fixing or moderating... lol  )

GAIA in its pure form is a remarkably simple but effective script that takes existing Ai and has them "home" in on BluFor Players (simplified explanation here, all credit to Spirit of course as it's bloody good) - but that's ALL it does...  If you watch the ai asset moving it's almost childlike in how it circles the "LastKnowAbout" location and then reduces the radius of the circule till it has you, simulating a surround and flank.

ALiVE is significantly more complex and allows us to do all the things that make our public missions work relatively seamlessly 24/7. Of course it does have weaknesses - control of Fixed wing assets being one.

I don't think they are comparable in a practical way for us - complementary ? possibly, assuming the GAIA is only working on non cached units etc.

Applying GAIA to script - spawned units is a good idea... we still need that clever script written to pull them in though.

Well, when I was thinking about applying the standalone GAIA script, it was in simple terms. I was going to apply it to Reshmaan Operation Ursus to simulate coordination between three uncached Shilkas placed on the map with the command in their init field, and two or three air uncached air units in the top left airfield.

When the shilka's spotted the enemy (either a helicopter or infantry) they would hopefully call for air assistance. That would at least initially work, until the shilkas or uncached air units were destroyed. Having ALIVE units spawn with GAIA commands included in their init field would obviously be better.

Ahh - now I understand the question...

No, ALiVE cannot spawn or cache units with Anything in the Init file. We'd have to do that seperately somehow.

Would it be possible to use the existing "Apollo" re-spawn script specifically for the aircraft and the Shilka's ?  You want to try and limit those units numbers on the map as they will not be ALiVE cacheable... Unless we use the GAIA caching.. hmm ?

lets have a chat on TS later... needs testing - maybe we could build Artillery into the equation too ?

Actually, I think it can:

http://alivemod.com/wiki/index.php?titl ... wned_Units

It will need testing.