This update is a big one!
It introduces the Sector System which helps provide focal points on the battle field as well as forming the basis for the future dynamic campaign system.
There are 2 new flyable helicopters - the heavy lift Chinook and the stealthy Comanche.
There are also new mission types including sling load cargo carrying, numerous improvements, bug fixes and optimisations so not only will things look better you should also see some FPS improvements.
I have tried to categorise all the updates as best as possible - there are a lot :)
I will be updating the Helicopter Guide to include the new Comanche and Chinook shortly. ːsteamhappyː
HELICOPTER UPDATES
All versions of the Chinook, Comanche, Apache, Gazelle and Hind now use an improved engine audio system which provides dynamic feedback depending on what the engines, main blades and tail rotor are doing. Turbines will spool up when power is needed, blades will "slap" under load and tail rotors will buzz!
All versions of the Gazelle now has it "HERO" exterior with visual differences between the different models and selectable paint schemes.
Updated the A.I. so that they know when wheels/skids are touching the ground which improves their landing ability.
Updated the Stores MFD page to include the following....
MTOW Weight (Maximum Take Off)
CGW (Current Gross Weight) you'll see this change as you burn fuel or fire weapons.
Door Gunner Ammo Levels
Interior Cargo Readout
Sling Load Readout
Updated the A.I. landing code to make a more positive landing attempt which hopefully eliminate an issue where they would almost touchdown, but not quite, and then drift around the landing waypoint.
Updated the Apache's rotor brake force so that it slows down a bit more realistically.
A.I. wingmen will now follow your altitude much more closely when in formation.
Wingman A.I. updated so that they can now launch missiles in rapid succession when using the "Attack My Designator" command. They should also now hold their position better between missile launches when in this mode.
Wingman A.I. updated so that they will now use Sidearms correctly and should only use them against targets with an active radar system.
Wingman A.I. updated so that they will now use their turret gun when a target is within 1,500m.
Wingman A.I. updated so they can now fly at any altitude up to 5,000m. It was originally capped at 200m above ground to prevent them exposing themselves too much but this could also cause them not to climb high enough to deploy weaponry.
Door gunners will now engage MANPAD teams correctly and prioritise them higher than standard infantry.
Door gunners will engage infantry correctly even when garrisoned inside a building. Please note that door gunners are not as effective against infantry in cover. Use rockets instead
Most helicopters have received the ability to sling load cargo containers. Please refer to the Helicopter Guide for weight limitations.
SECTOR SYSTEM
All maps have been updated to use the new Sector System and you will see these areas marked on the mission planning map together with information about the state of each sector.
You can toggle various layers on the Mission Planning map such as unit icons, unit engagement ranges etc to help manage clutter.
When starting a mission you can now choose your starting base from the Mission Planning screen.
Allied units now include M1A1 tanks, M2A1 Bradley IFVs, M113 APCs, Marder Roland SAM and Vulcan Air Defense Systems (VADS) for AAA
The number of units placed in a sector is now based on the Air Defence and Ground Unit levels. There's still a bit of randomisation but any sector with over 80% Air Defence is likely to be well defended with SAM and AAA units so always check a Sector's stats to get an idea of what you might face.
BTR now fires a 12.7mm round rather than using the same 23mm round as the Shilka. This will reduce the damage you take from BTRs significantly.
Various optimisations for the terrain streaming system
BTR-60PB variation for REDFOR which has a 14.5mm heavy machine gun
Added new Medical Field Hospital installation to all sectors
Added new Military Command & Control Installation to all sectors
Added in a Supply Depot Installation to all sectors
You can now specify both your Primary and Secondary targets when generating a mission giving you more control over the composition of a mission.
You can now choose the level of time compression a mission will use. This allows you to speed up the passage of time during a mission as follows...
1x - Real Time. 1 in game day takes 24 hours of real time
2x - 1 in game day takes 12 hours of real time
3x - 1 in game day takes 8 hours of real time
4x - 1 in game day takes 6 hours of real time
6x - 1 in game day takes 4 hours of real time
8x - 1 in game day takes 3 hours of real time
12x - 1 in game day takes 2 hours of real time
24x - 1 in game day takes 1 hour of real time
You can now choose the amount of Deployment Points you receive for a mission.
You can now choose the Enemy Force Strength for a mission. Options are as follows...
EQUAL - Uses the same value you selected as your Deployment Points
RANDOM - Will select a value between +-50% of your Deployment Points
Very Easy (50-100pts)
Easy (150 - 200pts)
Normal (250 - 350pts)
Challenging (400 - 500pts)
Hard (550 - 650pts)
Very Hard (700 - 800pts)
Impossible? (850 -1000 pts)
There are also various options for specific values.
Sector System Logistics mission have been added. These are the new and upgraded logistics missions which now utilise the Sector System stats to workout where the mission are needed.
Logistics are currently broken down into the following categories...
Standard Logistics You will be tasked with carrying various cargos ranging from 250Kg to 1,000Kg in weight
Heavy Logistics You will be tasked with carrying various cargos ranging from 1,250Kg to 2,000Kg in weight. These are designed to be used with heavy cargo helicopters (such as the Chinook) but can still be completed by smaller helicopters making multiple delivery runs.
Ultra Heavy Logistics You will be carrying loads really only suitable for the Chinook. However, you are still free to complete these missions doing multiple supply runs with the smaller helicopters but they will be easier if you fly a heavy lift helicopter.
Flying these missions is much simpler than the original cargo missions. You no longer need to load cargo at the start of the mission. Instead you will need to collect the cargo from the designated supply depot by landing on its helipad and then opening your cargo doors (if you have door gunners then simply attempting to open the doors will trigger the cargo loading process). Once the cargo is loaded you will need to transport it to the second supply depot. Again, opening the cargo doors will start the unload process and you will see the cargo get placed next to your helicopter - the cargo will disappear after a short delay. Repeat this process until the correct amount has been delivered. Wingmen are also fully compatible with these missions :)
Time to waypoints in the mission briefings now take into account any time compression used.
Increased the margin or error allowed when landing on helipads to collect or deliver cargo. It was a little unforgiving
Missions are now generated using a Seed Value allowing you to play the same mission more than once. The seed value for a mission is displayed on the mission configuration screen and you can randomise the Seed Value by clicking the "New Random Seed" button.
When you click this button a "Mission Code" will also be generated. This code contains the seed value of the mission as well as all the current menu options you have selected and is a simple way to share a mission with someone else or save a mission to try again later.
To apply a Mission Code simply paste it into the box and then click "Apply Mission Code" and it will set the correct Seed Value as well as set all the drop downs to the correct settings. You can then click "Generate Mission" when you are ready.
If you wish to share missions on this forum please post them in the "Mission Codes" sub forum - thanks Let the score challenges commence!
However, don't get too attached to any particular Mission Code. Future updates will almost certainly change the way missions are generated from Mission Codes.
INFANTRY
Infantry will now only engage air units with small arms fire at a maximum of 350m. Range of MANPADS remains unchanged at 1km. Infantry will still fire upon ground targets upto 750m away.
Infantry system has been updated to return the correct centre point for a infantry team member. This should increase the accuracy of door gunners who were actually shooting at the infantry's feet! This also effects the small arms tracer fire which should no longer come from a soldier's AK-47 boot!
GRAPHICS & OPTIMISATIONS
Experimental rotor air flow system which will cause smoke particles to be blown down and away from the helicopters main rotor blades. This should effect everything from gun smoke and missiles trails to burning wreckage smoke.
Radar dishes on ground units now rotate.
Turrets on all vehicles will now rotate as they scan the area for enemies rather than remaining stationary.
Fixed and optimised a lot of ground unit colliders.
Fixed a bug which would sometimes prevent a distant terrain from being culled correctly
Built a custom ray casting collision batching system for bullets & missiles. This system reduces the work load on the physics engine when processing bullets by utilising raycasting instead of colliders. This not only makes fast moving objects have perfect collision testing it also means I can distribute the workload over multiple CPU cores.
Updated a lot of the weapon meshes to use the new LOD system which should result in better looking models with less obvious "pop-in" and slightly lower poly count over all, probably won't make much difference to FPS at the moment but all these little savings will add up over time.
Optimised a lot of textures to use less VRAM. As a result I no longer need to use texture streaming and as such the VRAM setting in the Graphics Options is no longer used. I will remove that shortly.
Updated the Radar altimeter to no longer use the physics engine to calculate altitude. Instead it will query the terrain's height map directly. This is the precursor to allowing everything to locate the height of the terrain beneath it even if there is no collider present on the terrain.
Added a Dynamic Terrain Modification system that allows me to flatten the terrain under the helibases no matter where they are placed. This means all the objects that make up a helibase (e.g. helipads, buildings, warehouses etc) will now align to the ground perfectly and fixes one of my biggest bugbears about dynamic placement of objects .
Fixed the stutter that sometimes occurs as the mission starts causing the initial ATC speech to sometimes cut in and out.
Fixed the major slow down when accessing the weapons loadout screen for the 1st time
Fixed a distance calculation error which would sometimes prevent trees and ground detail from being displayed when transitioning between terrain tiles.
Introduced a new rendering system for the trees on "Central Libya" this should give a good speed boost (I gained 20% fps). Trees will be visible further into the distance and all trees, even dead trees, now react to rotor wash!
Trees will align to the terrain correctly even when flattened by installations.
Updated the air defences so they will use a fast lookup array for air targets instead of doing using physics colliders. This should reduce the CPU usage when lots of air defence units are scanning for targets.
Optimised a couple of the bullet impact particle effects.
Updated the wheel physics so that they no longer continue to spin faster and faster when not touching the ground. They will now slow down as you'd expect.
USER INTERFACE
Dragging waypoints on the Mission Planning screen now updates the path line in real time.
You can now set the volume for enemy and allied radar RWR sounds independently from each other.
You can now set the volume and track for music in the different areas. e.g. Main Menu, Mission Briefing, In Mission independently from each other.
Added "Hold For Mouse View" button option in the "View Controls" section of the "Control Bindings" menu. When held down this button will switch your mouse into Mouse View control allowing you to look around. You DO NOT need to bind the mouse axis to the view controls for this to work.
This system also works when using the mouse to fly the helicopter so you can quickly switch between looking around and helicopter control.
Added "Automatically Recenter Mouse, Cyclic & Collective Look" option in the Controls Settings menu. When this option is enabled the view will automatically recentre when you release the "Hold For Mouse View", "Hold For Collective View" or "Hold for Cyclic View" buttons.
You will now be penalized for destroying allied units. Negative mission scores will reduce your pilot's XP and could potentially lead to a reduction in rank!
You can no longer retract your landing gear while it is touching the ground.
TrackIR option has now been updated to "Enable TrackIR, OpenTrack & Tobii Eye Tracker (via OpenTrack)" to make it clear that this option supports multiple devices.
In game time is now displayed at the top right of the mission planning screens.
In game time is now displayed at the top of the mission briefing on the right hand MFD screen
Added a new music track "Heavy 8" for all those cargo pilots out there!
Pilot and Co-pilot selections are now saved between gaming sessions.
The radio system has been updated so that it doesn't buffer too many radio messages.
You can now set how long a burning object's smoke stack is visible for. After a long mission these particle effects could build up causing a slow down on some machines.
Removed a lot of square root calculations.
Separated the HUD and Command Menu so you still access the Command Menu with the HUD turned off.
Resized the MFD button text to be smaller giving me a little more space to write button functions.
Removed the ability to load cargo/seats when in the load out screen. Any cargo slots will automatically configure for seating initially. When picking up cargo for a logistics or infantry mission your helicopter will automatically re-configure as needed. This removes the possibility of forgetting to load cargo at the start of the mission
Removed the old "Cargo" missions as they have been superseded by the "Logistics" missions.
Your wingman will now report when picking up and dropping off interior and sling load cargo.
WEAPON SYSTEMS
Sidearm can now detect radars that are locked on to your helicopter. This allows you to use your helicopter as "bait" and then quickly engage the threat. It is not 100% guaranteed that the Sidearm will engage the locking radar if other radars are also in range and either pinging you or tracking you.
Updated the targeting pod system so that it will identify targets even when not locked.
Targeting pod will now show "GROUND" if it is pointing at the ground.
Artillery now has a maximum range of 12km instead of 4km. This means you can call it in on any target that you have line of sight to. Eventually this will be upgraded so that you can call it in from either the TSD or Planning Map screen allowing you to target units which you don't have line of sight.
This may become over powered so I will also implement a maximum distance from any allied base to simulate artillery units stationed there until I get some artillery unit models in game.
All door gunners have had their gimbal limits updated to ensure they can no longer shoot their own rotor blades off!
Improved the fragmentation damage calculation system so that more objects can be hit in the fragmentation zone. This will be most noticeable for bullets as they were only hitting a very small number of targets even if there were many more targets in the fragmentation area and should make all bullets more effective against troops.
Improved TSD targeting system.
The TSD will now find targets in a 750m radius around the TSD cursor location. This means you no longer have to be super accurate when designating a target.
If multiple targets are found in the search area then the closest to the TSD cursor will be automatically selected first. The rest of the targets will be temporarily stored into a target list which you can then cycle through by pressing the "Lock" button for the TSD multiple times working from the closest to the initial TSD cursor position outwards.
This is, essentially, creating a mini-PFZ (priority fire zone) which will allow you to engage groups of targets very quickly.
If you move the TSD cursor then this will clear the targeting list allowing you to designate a new target.
Added a vertical line to the TSD display to help you line up with targets and visualise whether they are to your left or right.
Updated the audio for the 20mm gun pod used by the Lynx and Gazelle.
Updated the audio for the turret gun on both AH-1Z helicopters