Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Discussion regarding mapping and missions in here - we are talking FMB chaps. Perhaps you are building a mission for the server or for campaign? Talk to the experts - we always need people willing to muck in so don't be shy!

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LuftAsher
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by LuftAsher » Thu Jul 27, 2017 2:50 pm

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Nitrous
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by Nitrous » Thu Jul 27, 2017 3:16 pm

Bonkin wrote:Introduction

Seen “The Struggle”? This was filmed “live” by a number of different players because a bug in the game won’t show big fluffy clouds on track replay. This next video was an early WIP version of that film (featuring a number of different scenes which ended up on the cutting room floor) – but it illustrates what can be done on the Server. Again, we had a lot of players in for this – and AI bombers as well. Note the clouds – especially when the Hurricanes are attacking the He111’s and the black smoke against the clouds:




You are amazing with sony vegas Bonks! :salute:

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Maltloaf
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by Maltloaf » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:02 pm

Bonks,

Cloud Test 2 looks pretty damn good. The others, although certainly denser than we normally see and very pretty are still legally VFR. Plenty of ground visible and not that daunting for the average quake pilot. What is the difference between Test 2 and the others?

I suggest we try something like Test 2 on a Thursday night and let people train on it and see what it does.

There is also the matter of how we implement this. I suggest that rather than leave it to the poor old mission builder to do from scratch each week, can we build a number of templates? Something like Low cloud 8/8 at 1000ft, wind SW, or Few clouds 3000ft wind from north etc etc and let the mission builder pick a template to suit the day. That way we would know the weather part of the mission will work. In addition, we may want to have the dispersals set out differently depending on the wind which, if you are just picking a template would already be done for you. That is probably jumping ahead a bit but it seems to me there is significant scope for screw up if we write the weather from scratch each week and there are not that many combinations which can be cut and paste from others.

I really want to see how people manage with a cloud base of 800’ over Biggin and a 30kt wind at 3,000ft. Me included.
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Bonkin
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by Bonkin » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:18 pm

Nitrous wrote:You are amazing with sony vegas Bonks! :salute:
Cheers mate.
Maltloaf wrote:Cloud Test 2 looks pretty damn good. The others, although certainly denser than we normally see and very pretty are still legally VFR. Plenty of ground visible and not that daunting for the average quake pilot. What is the difference between Test 2 and the others?
Both of these tests have the cloud base much lower than the global settings - so neither have been seen in campaign before. Test 2 uses Thunder clouds - but as I'll come on to, previous testing has found issues with this cloud type.
Maltloaf wrote:I suggest we try something like Test 2 on a Thursday night and let people train on it and see what it does.
So we've run a few server tests before to get to this point - but I like the idea of allowing the confidence to grow by using it on a Thursday night. I'd need one of the admins to manage this for us - or be given access to the server to do it myself. I think the other good thing about this idea is that it would throw up any issues with users who have older graphics cards.
Maltloaf wrote:There is also the matter of how we implement this. I suggest that rather than leave it to the poor old mission builder to do from scratch each week, can we build a number of templates? Something like Low cloud 8/8 at 1000ft, wind SW, or Few clouds 3000ft wind from north etc etc and let the mission builder pick a template to suit the day. That way we would know the weather part of the mission will work.
You're getting ahead of me. Remember this is part 1. I'm writing up part 2 now and hope to publish it within a few days. I'd already planned a part 3 which is exactly what you are after, e.g. sample mission files and videos. It may also be worth distributing a library of weather as you suggest. If the server crashes again, the last thing I want is to be eating humble pie if somebody proves it was the addition of the weather.
Maltloaf wrote:In addition, we may want to have the dispersals set out differently depending on the wind which, if you are just picking a template would already be done for you. That is probably jumping ahead a bit but it seems to me there is significant scope for screw up if we write the weather from scratch each week and there are not that many combinations which can be cut and paste from others.
I think the dispersals need windsocks and to be more centrally placed. Controllers and pilots would need to have awareness of the wind during the briefing so that they can plan which end of the runaway they are going to go to when called to standby.
Maltloaf wrote:I really want to see how people manage with a cloud base of 800’ over Biggin and a 30kt wind at 3,000ft. Me included.
Aye. I've often hoped controllers would be able to offer a talk down service. Certainly we can make conditions bad enough to warrant it. :)
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Maltloaf
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by Maltloaf » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:34 pm

Bonkin wrote:I think the dispersals need windsocks and to be more centrally placed. Controllers and pilots would need to have awareness of the wind during the briefing so that they can plan which end of the runaway they are going to go to when called to standby.
I totally agree with all of what you said and am excited to get this into the campaign so we can start reflecting the actual day rather than 'Met, winds L&V, few at 5000ft every week.

The only thing I would question is the quote above. We should aim for a two minute scramble which means for real the chosen dispersal would be at the appropriate end of the runway. But we are getting into the weeds. Roll on a shitty day!
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Bonkin
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by Bonkin » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:42 pm

Maltloaf wrote:We should aim for a two minute scramble which means for real the chosen dispersal would be at the appropriate end of the runway.
Admittedly I don't know what was done historically - but my guess is that dispersals were permanently situated for the prevailing winds at each airfield. Obviously on a grass airfield the take-off direction could be adjusted accordingly - but no idea what they did on concrete runways.
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Maltloaf
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by Maltloaf » Thu Jul 27, 2017 9:55 pm

I am not sure either but at RAF Catterick, which had been a Spitfire base and hadn't been touched since really till the Pongos moved in in 1994, there were two despersals at the eastern end of the runway within a stones throw of the threshold. The western end was close to the hangers and had been messed about with by the time I got there in 1985 so not sure. I would guess they had something either by the hangers or where the A1 now goes through. I don't know when it was concreted either but as it was taken over by us (RAF Regt) in 1946 I guess it must have been before then and was a wartime hard runway.
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Nitrous
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Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 1

Post by Nitrous » Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:16 am

Bonkin wrote:
Nitrous wrote:You are amazing with sony vegas Bonks! :salute:
Cheers mate.
My only criticism is that the videos are always dark and with the compression of you tube. The compression tests that I did on you tube still make 1080p look shit. I think 1440p for you tube videos is a must nowadays, but that is just my opinion. Most gamers that I speak to are holding out for oculus generation 2 so for the meantime are upgrading to 1440p monitors.

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