Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

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!

Moderators: Board of Directors, Command

User avatar
Bonkin
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:47 pm
Location: East Yorkshire, England

Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Bonkin » Sat Dec 30, 2017 5:26 pm

Bringing It Together

In part 1 I covered adding in wind layers and in part 2 I introduced the different cloud types. In this part I will provide some examples which, through experimentation, I believe are safe for use. Mostly though, this part is intended for use by campaign mission makers and designers.

Links for the earlier parts can be found below:
http://www.aircombatgroup.co.uk/forum/v ... f=5&t=8360
http://www.aircombatgroup.co.uk/forum/v ... =48&t=8373

First off, let’s recap the rules:
Rule No.1: Except for Wind, don’t try and use the FMB to edit weather. Add it to your mission file using a text editor like Notepad.
Rule No.2: Keep winds at airfield level at or below a strength of 5m/s.
Rule No.3: Add as many Local Weather areas as you need for the duration of the mission.
Rule No.4: Do not overlap Local Weather areas.

I believe these rules are still valid for the recently released v4.5 and are pragmatic at the time of writing. I’m going to add another one, since a bug in v4.5 (and earlier) can cause clouds to fully occult when viewed at certain angles. This will definitely occur if you max things out – so the new rule is:

Rule No.5: Experiment, keep it simple and thoroughly test the clouds in the mission before using it.

Weather Briefing
For server and campaign missions I would recommend (for immersion), briefing and presenting meteorological data as it would have been to airmen during the battle. I haven’t found historical data for the Luftwaffe but I imagine it would have been similar to the RAF - which has been the source of my understanding.

In an RAF Sector Control Operations room the wind forecast was represented on 6 circle boards to the side of the Tote board. Each circle board showed the wind for a 5000ft height layer, with the surface to 5000ft circle board being the lowest. The photograph isn't that clear but the wind strength in mph and gusts were chalked into the circle and an arrow on the outside of the circle could be moved around the board to indicate the direction the wind was blowing from.

The upper circle boards, e.g. at the higher altitudes, may not have been filled in if they were not known.

Image

Below the Tote board were indicators for the cloud layers, both base and tops. In addition, at Uxbridge there is a visibility board – although unfortunately we can’t adjust the visibility in v4.5. We can but hope for v5.0... (can you imagine having only 2 miles of visibility?)

Image

For our purposes I suggest the wind is documented in the mission briefing something like this:

Code: Select all

STRONG WIND WRNG: NIL.
WINDS:
GROUND: 270/15MPH
5000FT:  280/30MPH
10000FT: 280/35MPH
15000FT: 315/40MPH
20000FT: 
25000FT:
Luftwaffe wind speeds should of course be in kph not mph, and heights in meters not feet. Noting that the forecast doesn't have to be exact - it is a forecast after all!

Cloud base can be set within the mission file and should therefore also be part of the briefing. Normally the weather would be reported in zones and at each sector control station. Today we use Octas for sky coverage, i.e. 8/8 would be total clouds. In 1941 they used Tenths. If we use just global weather (which is safe to use), I think WeatherIndex=1 would translate to around 2/10 and WeatherIndex=2 would be 5/10.

Such a briefing could be something like:

Code: Select all

WEATHER-CONDITIONS: 1 AREA AT 0800:
AREA 1: S OF A LINE FROM BOURNEMOUTH TO SOUTHEND.
VISIBILITY 30M, WITH 2/10 BROKEN 1000FT/2000.
WRNG: NIL
Which would translate to 30miles visibility with 2/10 broken clouds, base 1000ft and of height 2000ft – and no weather warnings.

Wind
Below are a couple of wind examples which could be added safely into campaign or server missions, together with suitable RAF and LW briefings. Noting that the prevailing wind for the UK is Westerly. In the examples which follow, all are I believe safe for use with the WeatherIndex set to 0, 1 or 2.

Wind Example 1
South Westerly winds, increasing in strength from 5kts at ground level up to 30kts above 10K ft.

RAF Briefing:

Code: Select all

STRONG WIND WRNG: NIL.
WINDS:
GROUND: 225/16MPH
5000FT:  210/20MPH
10000FT: 210/35MPH
15000FT: 215/40MPH
20000FT: 
25000FT:
LW Briefing:

Code: Select all

STRONG WIND WRNG: NIL.
WINDS:
GROUND: 225/9KPH
1000M:  210/28KPH
2000M: 210/28KPH
4000M: 215/56KPH
6000M: 
8000M:
Mission Code:

Code: Select all

[GlobalWind_0]
  Power 1.768 1.768 0.000
  BottomBound 0.00
  TopBound 152.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
[GlobalWind_1]
  Power 5.445 5.445 0.000
  BottomBound 151.00
  TopBound 3048.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
[GlobalWind_2]
  Power 10.607 10.607 0.000
  BottomBound 3047.00
  TopBound 6096.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
Wind Example 2
North Westerly backing winds (e.g. turning anti-clockwise with height), increasing in strength from 5kts at ground level up to 50kts above 12K ft.

RAF Briefing:

Code: Select all

STRONG WIND WRNG: ABOVE 10000FT EXPC GRTR 60MPH.
WINDS:
GROUND: 320/16MPH
5000FT:  300/45MPH
10000FT: 280/50MPH
15000FT: 270/60MPH
20000FT: 
25000FT:
LW Briefing:

Code: Select all

STRONG WIND WRNG: ABOVE 10000FT EXPC GRTR 60MPH.
WINDS:
GROUND: 320/9KPH
1000M:  300/45KPH
2000M: 280/75KPH
4000M: 270/90KPH
6000M: 
8000M:
Mission Code:

Code: Select all

[GlobalWind_0]
  Power 1.5 -2.598 0.000
  BottomBound 0.00
  TopBound 122.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
[GlobalWind_1]
  Power 9.192 -9.192 0.000
  BottomBound 121.00
  TopBound 920.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
[GlobalWind_2]
  Power 15.588 -9.000 0.000
  BottomBound 919.00
  TopBound 2400.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
[GlobalWind_3]
  Power 20.284 -5.435 0.000
  BottomBound 2399.00
  TopBound 3600.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
[GlobalWind_4]
  Power 26.000 0.000 0.000
  BottomBound 3599.00
  TopBound 9150.00
  GustPower 1
  GustAngle 0
Clouds
Regarding adding in Local Weather, my recommendation is to keep it to a minimum. In my experimentation, there often isn’t a lot of visual difference between settings but there is on performance – especially for players with lower spec. machines. I would recommend only using the CUMULUS_GEN type or the THUNDER_GEN type – and the latter is best used with a smaller base area and a large height, mixed in with WeatherIndex=2, e.g.

Image

Image

As per rule 1, add the clouds using a text editor outside of the FMB and save the mission. You can safely move the positions of the Local Weather areas in the FMB – just don’t go into their properties.

Cloud Example 1
Four large cumulus field placed around the SE corner of England and NW corner of France. Cloud base varies between 650ft (200m) and 3300ft (1000m).

Image

Mission Code:

Code: Select all

[WeatherFront]
  LocalWeather_0 CUMULUS_GEN 20000 20000 241675.85 252407.97 0 0
  LocalWeather_1 CUMULUS_GEN 20000 20000 194985.80 250828.14 0 0
  LocalWeather_2 CUMULUS_GEN 20000 20000 285522.26 219803.40 0 0
  LocalWeather_3 CUMULUS_GEN 20000 20000 220948.71 199526.56 0 0
[LocalWeather_0]
  EllipticA 20000
  EllipticB 20000
  RotAngle 0
  ShiftX 0
  ShiftY 0
  BaseHeight 200
  IsRain 0
  IsDynamicEnabled 0
  ParticipType 1
  DropSize 10
  RainPower 10
  ThermalIntensity 10
  CloudsDensity 10
  MidSize 10
[LocalWeather_1]
  EllipticA 20000
  EllipticB 20000
  RotAngle 0
  ShiftX 0
  ShiftY 0
  BaseHeight 1000
  IsRain 0
  IsDynamicEnabled 0
  ParticipType 1
  DropSize 9
  RainPower 10
  ThermalIntensity 9
  CloudsDensity 6
  MidSize 9
[LocalWeather_2]
  EllipticA 20000
  EllipticB 20000
  RotAngle 0
  ShiftX 0
  ShiftY 0
  BaseHeight 600
  IsRain 0
  IsDynamicEnabled 0
  ParticipType 1
  DropSize 9
  RainPower 10
  ThermalIntensity 9
  CloudsDensity 8
  MidSize 9
[LocalWeather_3]
  EllipticA 20000
  EllipticB 20000
  RotAngle 0
  ShiftX 0
  ShiftY 0
  BaseHeight 600
  IsRain 0
  IsDynamicEnabled 0
  ParticipType 1
  DropSize 8
  RainPower 10
  ThermalIntensity 9
  CloudsDensity 8
  MidSize 9
Cloud Example 2
Three thunder cloud cells placed mid channel. Cloud base is 1600ft (500m) and the cell tops extend to 18000ft (5500m).
I would always recommend keeping EvenLayers=1 and TotalLayers=6, e.g. don’t increase them beyond these. The base area could be changed, but I wouldn’t recommend increasing it above a radius of 20000.

Image

Mission Code:

Code: Select all

[WeatherFront]
  LocalWeather_0 THUNDER_GEN 3000 3000 243301.83 212704.91 0 0
  LocalWeather_1 THUNDER_GEN 3000 3000 249212.00 206989.18 0 0
  LocalWeather_2 THUNDER_GEN 3000 3000 236216.88 217309.47 0 0
[LocalWeather_0]
  EllipticA 3000
  EllipticB 3000
  RotAngle 0
  ShiftX 0
  ShiftY 0
  BaseHeight 500
  IsRain 0
  IsDynamicEnabled 0
  ParticipType 1
  DropSize 0
  RainPower 0
  FrontThickness 5000
  FrontWindMaxHorSpeedNear 15
  FrontWindMaxVertSpeedUp 30
  FrontWindMaxVertSpeedDown 20
  FrontWindMaxTurbInClouds 15
  FrontWindMaxTurbInSquallZone 20
  EvenLayers 1
  TotalLayers 6
  IsThunder False
[LocalWeather_1]
  EllipticA 3000
  EllipticB 3000
  RotAngle 0
  ShiftX 0
  ShiftY 0
  BaseHeight 500
  IsRain 0
  IsDynamicEnabled 0
  ParticipType 1
  DropSize 0
  RainPower 0
  FrontThickness 5000
  FrontWindMaxHorSpeedNear 15
  FrontWindMaxVertSpeedUp 30
  FrontWindMaxVertSpeedDown 20
  FrontWindMaxTurbInClouds 15
  FrontWindMaxTurbInSquallZone 20
  EvenLayers 1
  TotalLayers 6
  IsThunder False
[LocalWeather_2]
  EllipticA 3000
  EllipticB 3000
  RotAngle 0
  ShiftX 0
  ShiftY 0
  BaseHeight 500
  IsRain 0
  IsDynamicEnabled 0
  ParticipType 1
  DropSize 0
  RainPower 0
  FrontThickness 5000
  FrontWindMaxHorSpeedNear 15
  FrontWindMaxVertSpeedUp 30
  FrontWindMaxVertSpeedDown 20
  FrontWindMaxTurbInClouds 15
  FrontWindMaxTurbInSquallZone 20
  EvenLayers 1
  TotalLayers 6
  IsThunder False
Remember to keep the cloud base heights consistent, i.e. with the CloudsHeight setting in the [MAIN] section.

So that concludes part 3. Since adding clouds can have an adverse impact on the frames per second, players should be aware of how to configure their graphics settings appropriately. At the time of writing, my own PC is an i5-2500K @ 3.3GHz, 8GB RAM, nVidia GTX970 1920x1080 @ 60Hz, Windows 10.

Here are my in-game graphics settings:

Image

And here are my nVidia settings:

Image

Personally I don’t get hung up on fps. So long as things are smooth and there is no jitter I’m happy with anything above 30fps. Even with heavy clouds the lowest I have seen is around 35fps – so it pays to experiment and if you are putting weather into missions, to consider that others may have lower specification machines than your own.
Image

User avatar
Jaydog
Hauptmann
Hauptmann
Staffelkapitan
Posts: 1612
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:41 pm
Location: Falling Waters, West Virginia (USA)

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Jaydog » Sat Dec 30, 2017 5:39 pm

:salute: Great info. Thanks for that Bonkin
Image

i9-9900k, 3.6 GHz, GeForce RTX 3090 FE, 64 GB RAM, 1 TB Samsung EVO SSD, 480 GB SSD, 1 TB SATA III Hard Drive, Windows 10, Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick, Warthog Flight Stick, Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS, Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals; MFG Crosswinds, VR: Oculus Rift S/ Reverb G2 / Pimax Crystal

User avatar
Ginger
Wing Commander
Wing Commander
ACG Board
contributor
Posts: 3679
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:43 pm
Location: The centre of the known universe Nottingham, England

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Ginger » Sat Dec 30, 2017 5:44 pm

Cheers Bonkin , the clouds did look good in the test, I will start to do some trials in the next lot of missions I build. :salute:
Image
DEAD PILOTS DONT MAKE CLAIMS

Katt
Posts: 185
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 6:51 pm

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Katt » Sat Dec 30, 2017 5:53 pm

You do outstanding work Bonks - carry on
Image

User avatar
Ginger
Wing Commander
Wing Commander
ACG Board
contributor
Posts: 3679
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:43 pm
Location: The centre of the known universe Nottingham, England

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Ginger » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:46 am

Tried a quick test in FMB and all's good. :nice:
Image
DEAD PILOTS DONT MAKE CLAIMS

User avatar
Stu
Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Staff
contributor
Posts: 124
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:29 am

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Stu » Sun Dec 31, 2017 5:46 am

Nice one Boss.
That is a very good mix - Feels realistic and still offers the chance to stay VFR if you must. Radar even more valuable here!
How were your frames through that? I was surprised how little clouds impacted on mine once I had switched off 'extended'
Stu

User avatar
Maltloaf
Posts: 1809
Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2014 10:07 pm
Location: Salisbury Plain, birthplace of British military aviation.

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Maltloaf » Sun Dec 31, 2017 10:09 am

Bonks

Excellent stuff and I wait with baited breath. However, having briefed winds L/V, broken at XXXXft for the last eon, I feel detailed weather briefs will only happen once firstly significant weather happens and secondly, the mission builders remember to tell me what it is. Wind only really has two functions, the direction of takeoff and landing and navigation. Unfortunately the wind verses ground handling in 4.3 is so shit (uncontrollable weather-cocking at 3m/s or 6kts, doesn't happen in a one ton Chipmunk so doubt it happens in a 3 ton Spit) that significant wind is un playable. Also the spawn points will need to be adapted for wind direction unless we want comical circus taxiing around the perri track and 15 minute scrabbles. Please someone tell me this is better in 4.5! As for navigation, as you can't adjust vis and VFR is always simple and even in high winds 'point and fly' is fairly easy unless the winds are very high.

I suggest we sneak this in gradually, especially as the server has been less than reliable recently. We could do a number of 'stock' weather setups, SW strong winds, low cloud; light easterlies and high cloud etc etc and then the mission builders pick one off the shelf (and maybe the corresponding map with all the spawn points in the NE corner of the airfields for example)

I really love the idea of met in the campaign but it has to be significant to the pilot to brief it, ie they have to land in the correct direction, they have to offset course to make the correct RV or they have to worry about fuel for the homeward leg into the wind but this will take some effort to get right.

Heading in the right direction, look forward to it.


PS, I seem to remember that if you are beyond the draw distance above the cloud, that layer obscuring the ground and all your referent points vanishes and you are in 0/8 CAVOK. Is that the case?
"I have never once lost my gratitude for those who were the sentinels and held the line between tyranny and civilisation"

User avatar
Bonkin
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:47 pm
Location: East Yorkshire, England

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Bonkin » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:24 pm

Stu wrote:Nice one Boss.Stu
Sssshhh! I'm not the "Boss" Stu. The real "Boss" keeps things in order around here and is decorated with lots of stripes, braiding and medals. :lol:
Image

User avatar
Bonkin
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:47 pm
Location: East Yorkshire, England

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Bonkin » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:48 pm

Maltloaf wrote:Unfortunately the wind verses ground handling in 4.3 is so shit (uncontrollable weather-cocking at 3m/s or 6kts, doesn't happen in a one ton Chipmunk so doubt it happens in a 3 ton Spit) that significant wind is un playable.
I know. Forget about the Chipmunk - a Cessna 150 can handle more cross wind than the game aircraft can. BUT, for the time being this can be worked around! Its all in my posts, i.e. look at the highest airfield in use and put the first significant wind layer just above it. This will allow people to taxi and take-off - but they'll still have to think about wind direction and strength for anything else. Winds are quite safe to use - and we need them to bring some extra challenge into the game.
Maltloaf wrote:Also the spawn points will need to be adapted for wind direction unless we want comical circus taxiing around the perri track and 15 minute scrabbles. Please someone tell me this is better in 4.5!
Sorry I can't tell you it is better. BUT, again it can be worked around for the time being - mission makers can put extra dispersal points in.
Maltloaf wrote:As for navigation, as you can't adjust vis and VFR is always simple and even in high winds 'point and fly' is fairly easy unless the winds are very high.
Agree there are limits to what we can do - but with all the investigation and trials I've done, I'm saying that we can do something now to add the extra challenge. It's not just pilots that will have the challenge - its the GC operators as well. Suddenly they are going to find that the fighters can't get to the bombers unless they change the vectors etc.
Maltloaf wrote:I suggest we sneak this in gradually, especially as the server has been less than reliable recently. We could do a number of 'stock' weather setups, SW strong winds, low cloud; light easterlies and high cloud etc etc and then the mission builders pick one off the shelf (and maybe the corresponding map with all the spawn points in the NE corner of the airfields for example)
The examples I've given are good to go. I'll happily support mission makers and create more. I'm thinking of knocking up a little app which can tweak the settings for you. Something that makes more sense than the FMB. If you really want to play it safe, only add the winds.
Maltloaf wrote:I really love the idea of met in the campaign but it has to be significant to the pilot to brief it, ie they have to land in the correct direction, they have to offset course to make the correct RV or they have to worry about fuel for the homeward leg into the wind but this will take some effort to get right.
On the lag test event I noticed that everybody was landing in the right direction for the prevailing wind. Could be coincidence but I'd like to think it is because they were thinking about it. I do agree with you though. Add in the wind as I've suggested and I'll bet we'll see more aircraft pranged on landing.
Maltloaf wrote:I seem to remember that if you are beyond the draw distance above the cloud, that layer obscuring the ground and all your referent points vanishes and you are in 0/8 CAVOK. Is that the case?
Sadly yes - BUT, cloud does remain below you - so its not totally 0/8. It's a game limitation which will hopefully be resolved with v5.0. All of this may be in vain though. I really sense a growing movement towards BoX - so unless TFS pull something out of the bag soon I fear the days of CloD are numbered. I'm just trying to add something to add a little extra to the immersion and give people more of a challenge.
Image

User avatar
Maltloaf
Posts: 1809
Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2014 10:07 pm
Location: Salisbury Plain, birthplace of British military aviation.

Re: Adding Weather to Missions - Part 3

Post by Maltloaf » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:08 pm

Bonks

Totally agree with all your comments. I am an absolute diehard that without met CLoD is not a sim but a sandbox for dog fights, fun but not an aviation challenge. If the builders are up for it I am certainly up for briefing it. I suggest they actually write the met brief as you have suggested in the mission thread and I and the LW just cut and paste.

Yep the Chippy can be fun in even a light cross wind (10kts max demonstrated) hence most airfields were just that, fields, and you picked which direction you wanted. Across the grass was the norm. Even Farnborough now only has one and any sort of cross breeze takes some skill, HOWEVER it does not weather cock when stationary with the brakes on even in a fucking gale!

If you think it is safe lets do it and get some strong winds at alt and see where people end up!

What is the met like in BoX?
"I have never once lost my gratitude for those who were the sentinels and held the line between tyranny and civilisation"

Post Reply