MB Limit?

Ali Cat

Ali Cat

Charter Member
Just tried something in the mission builder and I'm getting it can't be done. A good while back I read over and over that when an engagement (dogfight) began, after a few twists and turns and maybe a circle or two and then the pilot leveled out to find neither friend nor foe anywhere in sight. CFS2 shows them till the horizon and this seems unrealistic. I fiddled with re-spawn until I realized that the particular AC has to be destroyed first. I don't think there is a way to even fake this effect. If not, too bad – it would be just too cool.


AC
 
Shadow,

… and how good it is to at last speak to you. My CFS2 “big gun” list is long and, oh yes, you are of course on it. Thanks for all that you have given.

To your post I'm missing it. I would like to pull out in 30 or 45 seconds and every AC is gone. Like I said I don't think it can be done but I do love it when I'm wrong.


With all Respect,
AC
 
Can't be done...

In reality this sudden, lonely and unnerving "effect" that the pilots in your readings experienced was really nothing more than a misperception borne out of the limitations of their own eyesight. Naturally, the human eye is limited in the distances it can see and the amount of clutter it can deal with while moving through space. So, in a furball that gets dispersed and scattered by great distances, there's often somebody within just a few miles, sometimes higher up or much lower, that a pilot just can't see despite his frantic swivel-necking attempts. Sometimes nearby planes get visually "lost" against ground clutter or in clouds or in the pilot's cockpit blind spots. Its a very vulnerable time for a combat pilot in harm's way, because it would be easy to get lulled into lazy flying just looking around for friendlies and not flying aggressively defense against the one that can possibly come out of "nowhere" and shoot the lonely guy's ass off. This is reality flying that can only be simulated in a scripted virtual combat program if the designers do so. This was not done for CFS2. Any plane - friend or foe - within 10 miles of you will be visible no matter what. You can even turn off the target radar, but you'll still be able to "see" your nearest neighbors, even at 10 miles.
 
Thanks Bearcat,

“ … limitations of their own eyesight” is the way I've come to understand it. Picking out a lone aircraft, possibly fleeing, just a few miles away in all that sky – very difficult. The blind spots – good point – I had not thought of that.

My brief interest in re-spawn was that if an enemy was spawned a bit out of sight and then came into view that when it was re-spawned it would be gone, thus faking the effect. Of course if the enemy has to be destroyed first this is a no go. What is needed is a de-spawn and it ain't there.

Too bad. Incoming, position to attack, brief furball, then where is everyone – I'm alone? Oh well, knowing what can't be done is part of it.


Yes we actually use “ain't” down here,
AC
 
In CFS2 the visual model can only be seen at a distance of about 6nm.Here is the problem with CFS2 , the AI AC will fly from waypoint A to waypoint B and if there is no Waypoint C then the AI AC will return to waypoint A and continue to fly that rout untill you end the mission. This is one of the main reasons you continue to see enemy AI in you area. You have to give them a way out and a place to land.
 
"My brief interest in re-spawn was that if an enemy was spawned a bit out of sight and then came into view that when it was re-spawned it would be gone, thus faking the effect. Of course if the enemy has to be destroyed first this is a no go. What is needed is a de-spawn and it ain't there."

If I understand what you are saying... You can get rid of unwanted AI by plotting them to a waypoint X and upon their arrival at WP X, create an event that has them develop an "engine fire." That will get rid of them for a respawn after a few seconds (depending on the altitude.)
 
At the last enemy waypoint you can also use the command "Ditch" or "Bail Out".

"Bail Out" will happen the fastest because the AI pilot will bail out when reaching the way point instead of taking the time it does to lose the altitude to ditch or a burning plane to go down. As soon as the pilot leaves the plane I think it counts as destroyed. Visually you won't see the ID text and you can't target lock on it, though the black "radar" triangle will show on the relative position screen until it hits the ground. If you fly visual only this will give you the effect you want. This is as close as you're going to get in CFS2. :mixedsmi:
 
Thanks for the response everyone. Bobhegf – I've attached a mission (stock install) that is the inverse of my idea above because it can very definitely be done. By this I mean you are “jumped” by incoming zeros (via spawn) at close range. Some may think it a dirty trick but I find the effect interesting.

To those who have not tried this chaining of random events you might ask how do you test each possibility (each one will require a lot of tweaking/timing). You do this by temporarily forcing your random triggers to get only the possibility you want to test. For example, to force the second possibility set the first trigger value to 0% and the second one to 100%.

Shadow Wolf and Captain Kurt – interesting ideas. I gotta try it.


AC
 
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