I thought I had it but it doesn't seem to be working for me. To get a flight to take off:
Mission Begin---TL--->Timer---TL--->Takeoff---OL--->Plane MCU

Plane:OnMessage:Message
Type = 6
CMD=Takeoff index
TargId=Waypoint index

And the plane just sits there.

Any ideas?

http://riseofflight.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348

Ming

I think that I see what is happening. With Y = 0 I seem to be stuck in the mud. Initial tests in the SPAD were good but the Albatros is not getting airborne. If I take the controls myself I can get it into the air easily enough, but my wingmen remain mired.

My guess is that I have to get the Y value right but that is not going to be easy. Setting the plane's Y value to the airfield's Y value would seem to be the answer, but in fact is not. I end up upside down on the field.

At any rate, that was helpful. Thanks.

The struggle continues.

The struggle continues.

Coconut matting and a tow-truck?

Setting the plane's Y value to the airfield's Y value would seem to be the answer

There's a button on the top menu bar that's used to set a plane down on the relative ground, zero height will be the height of the scratchpad area below the map. Using the (off-map) southwestern corner of the map for orientation is recommended so a camera at that spot is useful. When everything's flying and happy with the mission waypoints, select everything and move (copy group, paste group) the group to your chosen aerodrome

I can get it into the air easily enough, but my wingmen remain mired

Do my wingmen get moving in the how-to thread I pointed you to? Must be a clue there. (bucking you up that it will work eventually, not being sarcastic)

Check leader's property page to set up (by experiment and observation) the formation in the list via the Change Formation button, but before that don't forget to connect each wingman in the flight to leader via leader's Add by Dialog button (see below) if you want them to follow leader and do what he or she does. Label the planes from the plane's Name property to make them easy to follow in the melee, FlightLeader, IAmNumberSix and so on

Ming

Umm, Ming, the question is - how to set the Y automatically without the mission editor - i.e. from an outside campaign and mission generator (Patrick's).

I assume nothing Laser

How do you set a plane down at a spot with a Y value? Perhaps you don't, perhaps you set the plane down at (Ym + 0.2m) and the plane drops 20cm to the ground at Mission Begin (some small Y value depending on the strength of the landing gear)

It's common in 3D work that one must instantiate an object in a spot slightly above (at or below the ground points are forbidden) the ground datum point, then the physics thread deals with the mired-in-the-mud thing and the collision-detection routine picks the plane up and sets it down.

Bear in mind that this sim has a very 3D-modeling aspect to the world in there and objects will respond to physics when the balloon goes up. Perhaps the initial Y coordinate value must not hover anywhere near zero (when working low-level-designing I mean) so a small +Y value may be needed

Ming

I give up. The damn thing is properly set up. Setting Y to zero gets you set up on the airfield nice and pretty but the aircraft don't move. The Y values for the airfields are not accurate. Hell, moving the planes around in the mission editor doesn't get the right Y value. I still start the mission lying upside down on the damned airfield.

Been working on this crap for a week and I'm pissed.

AHA - nothing like a good rant to clear the mind.

My problem was that I had air start set. A full week of digging through everything that I could think with no results. Finally noticed the air start flag.

Anyway - altitude of zero does work (thank goodness, because otherwise I would be hosed). That is the best way to designate altitude for ground starts because Y calculation is not accurate.

What else ... airfield position can be flaky. If you use airfield position as the start position you may not have enough room. I back the aircraft up towards the hangars.

This is my algorithm for aircraft placement:
1. Start with airfield position.
2. Calculate new position: 100 yards distance, direction is 180 degrees opposite of Y orientation (not Y coordinate).
3. Plant the lead plane at this position.
4. Other planes are placed 30 yards away, 90 degrees from lead plane.

Obviously there is the possibility of error, but it seems to be OK so far.