Before and After Action - Phantom by Heatblur

Is that something you could automate to pull any airfield waypoints in the flight plan, and it would add them to the kneeboard? Or even just let the player pick what navaids and airports (and the order they’d be displayed in) and create a kneeboard page?

I’m already displaying the lat/long coords for WP’s (could do UTM’s too as I have that, just not writing it out). Didn’t think about doing this for the bases but the info is in there.

Reverse the order is a pretty simple process. As for rearraing them arbitrarily: it’s possible but not something I have time for right now.

All the above either already is or could be in there. Can render anything really, even drawings and insert images but that will have to come later.

SIDEBAR: I may need to up the resolution of the kneeboard pages…I havent check what the max size is, if any; I just used what was included in the default install as an example: 768 pixels wide X 1024 tall….just checked: HeatBlurs F-4 kneeboard (JPG’ files) are the same so perhaps that’s may be a hard limit.

Oh, I the aforementioned frequencies for bases and navaids was never easily attainable. I just discoverd the information is now in two files. Parsing it has begun. They use a, to me, non-standard lua table so I have to ‘hack’ it out. Just a time thing.

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Sorry took so long to get back to you on this…

I’m getting it bit by bit. Just need more time. Thanks though. I’ll PM you if I get stuck.

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Hey man, absolutely no stress, no worries, no anything. :blush:

I’m here when you have time. :+1:

Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure when I was first discussing trying to land the Phantom dad said that Auto Throttles were you’re friend and that you just needed to fly the AOA. Obviously I haven’t had much time in it and haven’t even gotten things setup yet to toggle AT but I can see based on my manual attempts, eliminating the need to chase the throttles would be a big help. Getting more reps in to get the sequences for altitude, speed and attitude right is the key and I’ve only really seen one approach that was close to proper. Ironically enough I started the approach out over the Vegas strip thinking I was way high (and I HATE long straight in approaches) but the site picture looked about right and in the end, was pretty close.

All this means is… I NEED to get more time made available to get my rig setup properly and get my but INTO the seat and beat up the pattern myself!

I’ve noticed my touchdowns are nearly perfect (Jester is in love with me). However, getting from the overhead (I usually break departure end) to short final remains a bit shaky. So I keep bumping mysefl back in the training schedule; voluntarily recylcing myself. An hour goes by really fast too, just trying to be smooth throughout the process.

I figure the work will pay off when I start to drop dumb bombs on the scoring range (I haven’t had time to do a script for the gunnery range yet).

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Last night I finally got the Phantom Re-phueled. It was a long and frustrating task when compared to the F-1. First I had no idea the probe had to be reset everytime I disconnected. Then The tanker got in turbulance and i thought it was me. LOL. Restarted the mission and after a couple of YT videos got it DONE. Using ONE throttle (right engine) worked best for me. This really lets you finesse the approach. Of course, I am no expert and more practice is required but at least I got there and I got the basics. Im going again today. Phantom is a heck of a ride.

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This is from a convo with @chipwich Thought It may be slightly interesting…

“More of the DCS user base own Syria”

Makes sense. Been around a long time, having the benefit of ‘momentum’ A great map though Afghanistan may be better. FPS are good too.

This speaks a bit to one of my 2 PRIMARY GOALS: not being locked into a map cause it takes so much time to “add stuff” - makes it hard to move on.

Once I get the framework establised for a map (takes about a week, or four, depending on IRL) I can turn a blank sheet into something playable. And I can reuse the framework to generate other campaigns on the same map. Did this for the Nevada map:

The navaids, targets - HINTS - are consistent across campaigns for a map[1]. Then…

Sprinkle a lot of ‘hints’ about the entire map (think of these as “Points of interest” in Google Earth - you could use Google earth in fact to do this but the match between GE and DCS aren’t all that close - works for things like air routes though.

This phase of a new map takes a few days of zooming in/out finding somethig that looks ‘good’ (a place to put an AAA battery for instance), dropping an Initial Point there with the name “AAA” and viloa. Whether it ever gets used depends on the base campaign definitions (what part of the map it focuses on).

There’s also code that ‘scrapes’ the map for ‘hard targets’ like runways, bridges, etc. I attach a ‘hint’ to these too, ie; an “Small Industrial Building” can be assocated with a “CCC” hint and then be used for taskig against a Bad Guy Leader (he’s hiding there); command ‘node’; etc - something where a small building houses something HQ wants to be struck.

I have ‘sheets’ of platform types that change based on the campaing date (think I mentioned this before). In theory you could have a 1960’s Vietnam campaign and a modern day Vietnam campagin all built from the same base map data - SA-2’s would be swapped for SA-10’s and the like.

My Syria campaign is pretty much done. Has been for a while. Same with the NTTR training campaigns. The Apache taskings for this one are same as any map (based on the type of campaign and timeframe); the campign is more oriented towards fixed-wing; the Apache taskings kind of work-the-edges as there is heavier defenses (at the start). It does move you around to ‘austere’ firebases as the campign progresses. The initial days of the campaign though the Apache ops are mundane - the SEAD guys need to take care of the Big Hurt things first. Which if you choose the Viper could be you; you do SEAD for a while then plop into the Apache for some CAS stuff.

Fundamentally I’ve created Immediate Playability from the first day you unwrapped yor new module - in any map, be it simple flight training (pattern work and instrument approaches); A2G and A2A training; to combat ground attack and CAS, etc.

Addmittedly it is more ‘wide’ coverage than ‘deep’. Groups like ED, Heatblur etc wouldn’t have to spend 1 second building missions for their new product. This should have been in DCS from the beiginning. They have instant actions upgrades but this is a level beyond that. Just shy of a custom, more theatrical, approach like DLC campaigns.

Then add some “atmosphere’; audio and controlling agencies/AI groups - and the ability to communicate with them. I could make the latter so much better but the DCS UI is too limited.

[1] You could even do this ‘Johonny Appleseed’ work: I use a separte mission where the only purpose is to place these hints. DCGrok then ‘merges’ them together into one, final, mission, sota like:

Target Map + Period-Specific Unit Types + Player & AI (groups) Map + a ‘Narrative’ = final mission you play.

All for Single Player of course. Esp. those that don’t want to, or have the time to, build their own sand castles. Or have no friends :wink::wink:

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You sure do sell it well. I wouldn’t mind giving it a test drive.

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Dang the bad luck…

Talking with @chipwich he mentioned a bunch of you doing CSAR in Syria. So I thought, well, I’ve got a “Escort MEDEVAC” tasking in there. So I left the Phantom back in 1972, at Nellis, spent a few minutes adjusting the code…

…and took a CSAR-like tasking in Syria, NW of Raqqa a ways. But…

I forgot that, depending on certain factors and conditions, your base could come under mortar/rocket attack (think Da Nang, 1968-ish) right at the start (when exactly varies). In all the times I’ve tested this it has been exciting but I’ve never been hit. Until today…

The crater from the one that got me is center, left. The tail boom is now modular. Appears I have gone to sleep. CPG seems ok. The klaxon and warning to “duck and cover” came over the loud speaker but too late for me.

Normally I’d get airborne lickity-split and start hunting them down. Today they won.

NOTE: the Bad Guys aren’t targeting me, the player. Goes against the ‘spirit’ of this system - not all about you (except when they get lucky I guess)

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It was actually CSAR in the OH-6A in the Into the Jungle mission, but Syria is equally intriguing. I’m definitely game. Love the interface.

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