The Aircraft Carrier Thread.

[Sbob]

On to Traffic BGLs and AI. (PART 1)

Again, just practical experience on my part but, you want to keep your AI and their flight plans to a minimum.
Remember that the flight deck on the carrier is rather small and AI have a bad habit of getting into stand-offs.
Also remember that you will be sharing the flight deck and the pattern with your AI.

To keep things simple, I use Traffic Tools by Lee Swordy (here-after known as "TT"). It does everything I want a traffic editor/creator to do and I can run it out of a single folder placed where I can find it.

The idea behind Traffic BGLs is pretty simple. They aren't conventional scenery BGLs, rather they use three separate text files divided into AI AIRCRAFT, AIRPORTS, and AI FLIGHTPLANS. The problems start when you de-compile a standard Traffic BGL and try to learn anything from some over-complicated information. The Traffic BGLs in the Carriers 2006 package are ideal, not only in terms of being functional but they are also VERY easy to understand.

If you haven't already, download TT and install it. I keep a TT install folder on my desktop, you can put this folder anywhere but I like the desktop. Its easy to find when I need it and I don't have to generate any shortcuts. It also forces me to COPY a traffic BGL to the TT folder to make any changes without changing the old BGL or its location, yet. TT has a really good Instruction Manual, you don't need to memorize it (mostly) but its easy to find.
Inside the TT folder you'll find two EXE files, Ttools and Collectairports. Ttools is where you'll do all of your traffic work. Collectairports is REALLY handy if you have added new carrier scenery, its a good idea to run Collectairports EVERY time you add new scenery.
Drag your Traffic BGL into your TT folder (later, you'll be able to create Traffic BGLs "from scratch" without a lot of headaches).
Double-click Collectairports and it will generate a COMPLETE text list of airports in your FS install. You may need to select your FS location the first time. Leave this master list in your TT folder, we WILL be using it later.
Now, double click TT.exe. You should see your Traffic BGL listed in the box on the RIGHT. Click that BGL and select DECOMPILE. TT will generate three text files named Aircraft, Airports, and Flight plan followed by the name of the Traffic BGL, (ie, Aircraft__AC25_GofO.txt, Airports__AC25_GofO.txt, and FlightPlans__AC25_GofO.txt). You'll also notice these three files listed in TT's left box.

NOTE THAT TT WILL OVER-WRITE THE ORIGINAL BGL FILE WHEN YOU COMPILE THE THREE TEXT FILES if the original BGL stays in TT's main folder. This is why I ALWAYS work on a copy of a traffic BGL. Also, you can take a break at this point without losing any info. In the next post, we'll take a look at each of those text files and how to edit/change them.

 

[Sbob]

(PART 2)

Lets look at each of those text files TT generated.

First up is AIRCRAFT. Open the file and you'll see something like this:

AC#1,200,"MAIW_NBAI_FA18C_USN_NG_VFA-146_163496"
AC#2,200,"MAIW_NBAI_EA-18G_VAQ-132_166896_NL-542"
AC#3,200,"MAIW_NBAI_FA18C_USN_NG_VFA-146_163480"
AC#4,200,"Abacus Seahawk PAC AI"

There are four AI aircraft listed. The "200" refers to Cruise Speed. The last part in each line is the most important, it identifies an aircraft that is loaded in FS. The text is UNIQUE to every aircraft you have loaded in the sim and it MUST match, exactly, the top line of each version in its aircraft.cfg file. In other words, that line MUST be the same as

[fltsim.1]
title=Abacus Seahawk PAC AI
sim=seahawk ai
model=
panel=
sound=
texture=

Its THAT easy. Getting back to that Cruise Speed, it isn't THAT important. TT uses that number for timing when it compiles the new BGL.
How the AI act when they taxi, fly, or land is based solely on their flight dynamics.

At this point I should mention that there are "normal" and "wet deck" flight dynamics for AI. Normal, in this case, means a fighter will act like a fighter and need about 8,000 feet of runway to land. "Wet deck" AI will work better on a carrier but will probably screw up land-based AI traffic.
In the case above, I really like MAIW's F/A-18s BUT they are meant to be used on dry land. In my carrier scenery, they will land around 140 kts and use all 8,000 feet to stop (somewhere over the ocean) then taxi back to the carrier and park-up. The Abacus AI planes will land with no issue on a short carrier deck but they look like a dog's breakfast compared to MAIW.

You've probably already thought, "Why not use the Abacus flight dynamics on those MAIW planes?". And you're right, mostly. I don't want to goof up my land-based AI so the only alternative is to create ANOTHER airplane folder using MAIW's MDL and TEXTURE files and the Abby FD.
My AIRCRAFT folder is already pretty full, so I live with it.

 

[Sbob]

(PART 3)

The next text file, AIRPORTS, is pretty easy. In its basic form, TT only wants the airports that are used in the Traffic BGL. In this case, my Traffic is ONLY based on or over AC25, the carrier scenery I placed in the Gulf of Oman. It MUST be noted, in the FlightPlans file I'll cover later, that the AIRPORTS file MUST include any airport that is used in those flight plans. That includes ANY "phantom" airport that is used as a WAYPOINT.

So, let's take a look at what's inside this text file:

AC01,N30* 9.95',W80* 40.00',66
AC02,N29* 9.93',E48* 34.95',66
AC25,N25* 0.00',E57* 59.93',62

You're looking at three different airports (I use more than one for future expansion or if I create another scenery BGL). "AC25" is the Airport ID as used by FS. Next is the LAT and LON while the "62" is the elevation (as FS defines it) of the runway. That information came from when I ran CollectAirports which is why its included in TT. That list CollectAirports generates is going to be pretty long, so open the list then click EDIT and use FIND and the Airport ID to locate your airport info. Copy and paste that line into your AIRPORTS text file and you're good to go.

I told you this part was pretty easy.

Next up will be the text file that makes most simmers #### their pants, but it really isn't that bad. Unless YOU make it that way.
I'm taking a break for lunch, I should have the next post up after watching some football.

 

[Sbob]

So, let's dive into that dreaded FlightPlans text for these Carriers 2006 Traffic BGLs.
The first thing to notice is..they ain't so bad. One quick note, the FlightPlans text file for the carrier near Miramar's Traffic is gorked.
If you open that one, the FlightPlans text file looks like it was meant for something else, maybe FSX or XPlane or who knows what?
The easy fix is to decompile one of the other C2K6 Traffic BGLs then swap-in the Airport ID for the Miramar carrier (AC11), then rename the new compiled BGL with the same name as the old Miramar Traffic BGL and replace it. That brings up a quick point, Traffic BGLs can be mostly identical to each other with only small differences like the AI aircraft or the Airport ID.

Anyway, on with the show. Our FlightPlans text file looks like this:

AC#3,F18,10%,2Hr,VFR,00:00:00,00:15:00,020,F,0313,AC25,01:00:00,01:15:00,020,F,0313,AC25
AC#1,F18,20%,2Hr,VFR,00:15:00,00:30:00,020,F,0302,AC25,01:15:00,01:30:00,020,F,0302,AC25
AC#2,EA18,30%,2Hr,VFR,00:30:00,00:45:00,020,F,0501,AC25,01:30:00,01:45:00,020,F,0501,AC25
AC#4,SH60,40%,2Hr,VFR,00:45:00,01:00:00,020,F,0124,AC25,01:45:00,02:00:00,020,F,0124,AC25


Not very daunting. Its very basic BUT its also very tight and it runs as advertised. The AIRCRAFT text file defines four aircraft and here we have four flight plans. This is the BASIC C2K6 Traffic but I have made some small changes, mostly in how the AI communicate with the ship in FS and the order of how they park on the flight deck. Notice the AC# at the start of each flight plan. I set them up out of order so they correspond to the parking spots in the AFCAD BGL. This was done by just watching the AI and how they behaved. Don't ask why this order works, it just does and I have no clue why. I have some ideas, maybe it has to do with an arbitrary point in the AFCAD, but I can't prove it.

So, let's pick apart one of these flight plans and see what's going on.

AC#3,F18,10%,2Hr,VFR,00:00:00,00:15:00,020,F,0313,AC25,01:00:00,01:15:00,020,F,0313,AC25

The first thing to notice is that each flight plan can be divided into three segments.

AC#3,F18,10%,2Hr,VFR,............00:00:00,00:15:00,020,F,0313,AC25,..........01:00:00,01:15:00,020,F,0313,AC25

In the first segment F18 is an identifier if you have the red text turned on in FS. The only time you see it is when the AI has started its engine(s) and is either in taxi or flight mode. Don't sneeze at this, when you're in the pattern its handy to know who's also flying around or getting ready to take off. The % stuff shows which aircraft is most likely to start doing its AI thing first. Note that I like to have the helo start the show followed by the EA18 jammer/tanker.

WHILE TT HAS AN IN-DEPTH BREAKDOWN OF THESE SEGMENTS IN ITS READ-ME SECTION, THAT READ-ME WAS WRITTEN FOR FS2002. FS2004 HANDLES AI A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.

Moving on, all of these flights run on a two hour cycle. Most fighters (including you) run a basic two hour flight/patrol. VFR, in this case, means the AI fly a basic pattern around the carrier before they return to land. Notice how the next two segments look alike. The way to read this is that during the two hour AI cycle, the AI will start up immediately (once you select the scenery for your own flight or get within 10-15 miles of the airport) and taxi for a take-off. The AI will then fly the pattern and land 15 minutes later. This will be followed by another take off (roughly) one hour later followed by another 15 minute flight and a landing to close out the cycle. The 020 is the CRUISE ALTITUDE measured in 100's of feet, in this case it means 2,000 feet. The F tells ATC and the AI to use the "airline=" value found in the AI's aircraft.cfg file, meaning I want the callsign turned on so I can hear it on the radio. To turn this part off, switch it to an R. The 0313 refers to the AI's "buzz number" or reg. number. You will hear the AI and the ship say "<callsign> 313". The final part, AC25, is the airport ID.

Looking at it in a more basic way, this aircraft will launch and fly a pattern around the carrier for 15 minutes then return to land. It will fly two of these patterns during each two hour cycle. It will also use its callsign and flight number when talking to the carrier. Now, look at the other flight plans and notice how those times are offset. You don't want a bunch of planes trying to take off at the same time. This also works out as a good mix of AI tooling around on the flight deck or flying the pattern.

So, some final thoughts on carrier AI traffic:

-TT can only recognize a Traffic BGL if it's name STARTS WITH "Traffic_" . Some AI traffic (*cough* Abacus *cough*) may try to hide its status with a name TT won't recognize BUT all traffic BGLs have to be the same, meaning you can fiddle around with them.

-DON'T try to stack multiple Traffic BGLs onto the same carrier scenery. Things can get REALLY messy really fast.

-DO keep your Traffic BGLs simple. Its a big ship BUT its a small airport.

-Try to keep your Traffic BGL close to your scenery folder. You can install them, pretty much, anywhere. They are MUCH easier to find when you know where to look.

If you want to play around with the Traffic BGL I used as an example, feel free. I've attached it in a zip file, below.

 

[Sbob]

(PART 1)
Well, I think I've beaten this subject into the ground.

The only thing left to cover is unique to carrier scenery and I recently found a way to make it a LOT less painful.
Namely, coming up with arrestor cable (and catapult) TRAP and LAUNCH zones.

I'm going to use ARRCAB's ArrestorCables.dat file as an example. To open and edit these .dat files, just highlight the .dat file then always use "Open with" and select NOTEPAD. You'll see a bunch of entries that look like this:

[Zone60]
CarrierIdent=CVN71 Gulf of Oman 127
FrontRightCornerLat=25.000561
FrontRightCornerLon=57.999435
FrontLeftCornerLat=25.000709
FrontLeftCornerLon=57.999568
BackLeftCornerLat=25.000875
BackLeftCornerLon=57.999346
BackRightCornerLat=25.000727
BackRightCornerLon=57.999215
DeckAltInFeet=65.4
CableCatchZoneHeightInFeet=2.4
RunwayHeadingInDegreesMag=127

This is my newest (60th) carrier scenery.
The part that is toughest to figure out are those LATs and LONs and I'll cover that in a minute.

CarrierIdent should explain itself, its the TEXT you see in both ARRCAB and FS when you get close enough to your carrier.
Notice that I set mine up to get the info I need if I took off from somewhere else and wanted to find the carrier.
I use the convention of setting the NDB to "3" plus the hull number, in this case it would be 371.00.
I also include the Runway Heading so I can set the COURSE in the HSI.
In most cases, the ILS (NAV1) and VOR (NAV2) will be 110.30 and 108.40, but if it isn't I can still find the ship using the NDB.

Skip the LATs and LONs again for a minute, the next line we need to deal with is DeckAltInFeet. If you made your scenery, you should have this info from when you made your AFCAD BGL. If not, use that master scenery text file you made using Collectairports in your TT folder from earlier.
I should note that this might not work if you have a FLATTEN issue with your carrier scenery.

DeckAlt works in conjunction with the next line, CableCatchZoneHeightInFeet. This one also explains itself, its how high the wires sit above the flight deck. For the most part, you can leave this value alone for ALL of your carrier scenery although you CAN increase or decrease it slightly if you're dealing with a stubborn FLATTEN issue.

Last is RunwayHeadingInDegreesMag. Again, this isn't hard to figure out however, understand that this is the heading you would see on a modern HSI if you were sitting on the deck and aligned with the center touchdown line. This heading ALWAYS includes Mag Var, so just position your aircraft and read the HSI. I "think" programs like ARRCAB give you a heading "fudge zone" of +/- 15 degrees or so to enable a Trap.

NOW, we'll deal with those pesky LATs and LONs. These numbers aren't hard to generate BUT if you recall my write-up on LAT and LON formats in the Getting BUFFed thread, they are VERY precise. The easy way to knock them out is to, first, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil. Draw four dots in the shape of a box. Label the four dots FL, FR, BL, and BR. At this point, start FS and load your carrier scenery and your favorite carrier plane. Hit <alt><enter> if you run FS in full screen mode and set it to the smaller window. Now, drop the tail hook of your plane and move it so its aligned with the runway heading and taxi to the rear (#1) wire where your center line is above the inner "foul line" (inner line of the white double line on the edges of the runway. Write you heading between the four dots you drew. Now, start AFCAD.

Continued in PART 2.

 

[Sbob]

(PART 2)

Something I finally tripped over with AFCAD is that you can change the LAT and LON display to the DD.DDDD format (degrees and decimal degrees) by going to TOOLS and selecting OPTIONS. In the center box, change to DD.DDDD format.

Now, load your carrier scenery's four-character AIRPORT ID into Afcad and notice where the red plus sign shows up.
Place your cursor in Afacd directly in the center of the red cross and you'll see the co-ords in the lower left corner of Afcad.
Write down the LAT and LON next to its dot on your paper diagram. NOTE that SOUTH and WEST co-ords need a MINUS sign in front of them.
For NORTH and EAST co-ords, the plus sign would be implied (not needed).
Reposition your aircraft in FS so it stays aligned with the center line and set the tail hook on the other three corners. Go back to Afcad and grab the co-ords for these points. Nothing to it.
Just make sure you write down these numbers LARGE ENOUGH so they are easy to read. I figure 95% of my ARRCAB screw-ups happen because I didn't transcribe the numbers correctly. The other 5% are due to missing a - sign.

I ONLY work with ARRCAB. Your Trap Zone points for other programs may get entered in a different way, but the co-ords will stay the same.

Now, you need to enter your new carrier into your ArrestorCable.dat file.
ARRCAB is kind of picky, its best to just COPY one of the [ZONE]s and PASTE it at the bottom of the list, then make the changes one line at a time.
MAKE SURE you ONLY use NOTEPAD to open and save your ArrestorCable.dat file.

NOW comes the fun part, someone's going to have to TEST those new trap zones.

BTW, with Carriers 2006 (and most carrier scenery) the trap zone is pretty forgiving (its wide and long).
As you gain experience, you may want to "tighten up" those zones to something a little more realistic.

 

[Sbob]

..and I'm about "tapped out" on this topic.

If I missed something (its possible) or you have ANY questions by all means ask.
Carrier scenery in FS9 is some of the most challenging stuff you can do in terms of flying and scenery creation/addition.

I could still write a post on where to find carrier aircraft and scenery (the old payware stuff or download MAIW's Rafale M package and get the Charles de Gualle carrier scenery) if anyone's interested.

Otherwise, these posts took a lot of work and (believe it or not) editing to get right.
I'm looking forward to doing some flying for a change.