VARIABLE Strength, RANDOM direction, RANDOM AI, RANDOM timing, AI Fighter CAP group - UPDATED 5/5/21

[WWCephas]

This is a premade flight of 1-4 fighters that can be dropped into any map as it's own group and can be quickly modified for airplane type and nationality.

This plane spawning circuit was designed to provide a respawning enemy CAP patrol over an area that scales up in planes according to the number of players, is randomized in direction, time delay when launching, and AI skill level.

 

OPERATIONAL BREAKDOWN:

This group has a built in circuit to vary the number of planes depending on the number of players that spawn.

After the first person spawns it begins a 7 minute period where it counts how many people have spawned onto the linked airfields.   (Currently counter are set to 1,4,6, or 8 players)

A Mission Builder will need to add  "on plane spawned" link to the input link of the circuit to activate this group and start tracking player spawns.

I have it set for a 1-2 ratio of planes.  This module uses low resources so you can stack several of these groups with different planes in a mission if more planes are desired.

When the counting time limit ends after 7 minutes the highest completed counter deactivates the lower numbered counters and sends a signal to the appropriate spawn routine.

Then there is another 3 way circuit that determines the time delay in minutes before spawning the flight (and respawning)

The next circuit spawns the fighter(s) but then there is another circuit which randomly sets the fighters to patrol CW or CCW in a triangular repeating pattern of Waypoints set to low priority.

There is also now a circuit that sets the wingmen 2 through 4 to a random level of AI skill, the Lead is always an Ace.

When every plane from that flight is destroyed the counter will send a signal back to the time delay circuit to respawn with a random delay again.

 

If the AI CAP planes run low on fuel or out of MMG they will divert to the retreat waypoint at Medium priority and be destroyed when they arrive there.  

 

The planes are not targeted to the Lead plane like a normal squadron, each is its own unit, but due to how the game engine works they stay close together like a linked flight.

Each spawn and waypoint altitude can be changed, but they are stepped in 50 meter increments for each plane in the flight so be sure to change the new altitude settings accordingly.

To modify the waypoint heights you will need to zoom in very close because each waypoint is actually 4 stepped height waypoints stacked on top of each other. (50 meter separation)

 

This module has been tested and refined in quite a few of my missions and provides a VERY random experience, even knowing how the mission is built I have no idea when and where these planes will appear.

It works very well layered over strings of defined mission plane attack routes to give random experiences on top of what the mission overall design is.

 

 

 

Variable Strength AI Fighter Patrol with Random Waypoint (2).zip

Edited May 7, 2021 by WWCephas

[WWSandMan]

I'm not much of a mission builder, but this looks like a really cool group to have available, thanks!

[WWCephas]

Original thread updated, this info deleted.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by WWCephas

[WWPlague]

Haha. Hope you are having fun Cephas. We missed you while you were absent for a while completing your career at Boeing. 

[WWSandMan]

Got the New and Improved version, thanks!  

[WWCephas]

Original thread updated, this info deleted.

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by WWCephas

[WWCephas]

BUMP

I made some changes that really improve this module along with an error fix I found when the variable of 2-3 planes are selected.

If you just want to make a quick A to A mission you could drop several of these groups on a map, modify the planes nationality and model and link it to the player spawn airfield and you have a quick mission.

I use this circuit quite bit as an overlay to the mission design to add randomness and it is quite unpredictable.