Hi Mando,
Well for the last two weeks our ArmA: Theatre of War tournament has been testing MMA 2.2b3 and they love it.
Here is some of the feedback that we are faced to provide solutions for. And since this is a beta I thought I would share them with you to see how we could get a solution.
First off all people fell in love with the SAM MCC we enabled on our BRDM2_ATGM and Stryker_TOW vehicles. Well the Patriot MCC is used on the Stryker_TOW
// Stryker_TOW units will be Patriots for players as gunners
_mcctypeaascript = "mando_missiles\mcc\mcc_types\mando_missilecontrolon_patriot.sqs";
[["Stryker_TOW"], 12, 12, ["Air"], "Patriot Console", _mcctypeaascript, [0,1,0.5], [0,1,0.25], 1, -1, 0, [], 3]execVM"mando_missiles\mcc\mando_mccallow_by_type.sqf";
_mcctypeaascript = "mando_missiles\mcc\mcc_types\mando_missilecontrolon_sam1.sqs";
[["BRDM2_ATGM"], 12, 12, ["Air"], "SAM Console", _mcctypeaascript, [0,2,1], [0,1,1], 1, -1, 0, [0,0,1,1], 2]execVM"mando_missiles\mcc\mando_mccallow_by_type.sqf";
Also keep in mind that currently in our system helicopters only get flares. No Mando missiles at the moment.
Here is the feedback... As all pilots got killed time and time again even though they had plenty of flares. The flares worked great when deployed at the right times don't get me wrong. But here is the feedback they sent me...
1. Choppers get lock on warning but do not know where from if the engine is off on the vehicle making it hard to find the source of the missile. Maybe either making it so engine remains on when in AA position or giving a lock on direction as well as warning when radar goes from passive to active would help the pilots.
2. The choppers only get one missile warning even if i launch 3-4 missles at them in rapid succession. Maybe a warning of how many shots are incoming would be helpful.
and then a reply from a Pilot that basically got owned all day LOL. But he is a good pilot.
SAM MCC Gunner's got it right, I thought I'd explain more and typed a book pretty much but after I determined this much:
It would have to be tested but I think we'll be ok (theoretically) if we do this:
Making sure the SAM's engine is ON when using the console would substitute for trying to get Mando to make a RWR system. Why?
- It gives the pilots the ability to lock on to the target, ID it as the SAM threat, and watch the direction for the missiles firing and therefore how many would be inbound, thus how many flares to use.
This eliminates the issue of 1)knowing where the SAM was and avoiding the fight entirely by flying away 2) knowing where it was to see the missile launch and therefore count the incoming number of missiles (READ: how many flares?)
----This would still be difficult for the pilots to keep track of the number of incoming missiles, but tactics could be adapted for this (e.g. SEAD missions with 2 birds flying...)
Adding more flares would help balance wise, as well as giving the missiles a bit of acceleration time (500 m/s out of the tube and in flight is a bit steep with only 1200 meters visibility to work with) [EDIT: He is mistaken. 500 m/s is the max speed and it comes out of tube at 10 m/s as I recall -ViperMaul]
Keep in mind visibility is 1200, the SAM can fire at 1500 and reach farther but the helos need visual ID to attack the target...
If we could develop a RWR system to give seperate missile warnings , I'm not in favor of decreasing missile capacity as it would then be a mere push of a button to avoid them.
So in short,
If you have a BIS standard Shilka or Vulcan, and you turn off your engine, the Red Radar Blip on a standard attack chopper turns to white, unless you hide that vehicle by some good tree cover and then I am told by pilots that the white blip even disappears. However, I feel BIS knows this because when you get into the Gunner seat and move your turret the vehicle engine turns on thus providing a directional signature for the pilot to have a chance to counter.
This issue now is the MCC does not cause the engine to turn on. Its a beautiful dialog box. They are requesting that when you turn on your MCC that either there is a Mando source signature added to help the helos triangulate on the location. -Or- Turn the engine on
ONLY when you LOCK at target with the MCC so that it gives the pilots that same chance to source the general direction. Perhaps not a red blip, a white blip might be better. A red blip can more easily be targeted by the Cobra's ATGMs.
So I thought I would share this feedback with you because you said in times past you are not getting as much quality feedback as you would like. We LOVE MMA v2.2b3 and look forward to your next release and any improvements.
For now can you comment on this feedback?