Tips & Tricks to use with FSCAI

[xpel]

I'll post here some tips & tricks for use with FSCAI. Feel free to contribute.

1a. Via FSCAI's menu ("F" key) you can spawn an AI opponent for dogfight that is a copy of the plane you
fly. What if I want a different opponent ?... Method is simple : Select in Free flight the plane you want as
your AI opponent. Create AI opponent with FSCAI's menu. Check in FSCAI window that has been created
and is what you want (armed, etc). Pause sim and from Menu Bar, tab "Aircraft", select and change to the
plane you want to fly with. Good shooting... In practise :

  

1b. Same goes with your FSCAI created AI wingmen also (your flight). Select in Free flight P-51_Racer and make
a wingman or two. After they have been created, change your aircraft to say B-26 Marauder. Now you have a fighters
escort to your bomber and you may also try this new bombardier functionality of FSCAI...


2. So, I want to make a mil. scenario to fly with FSCAI. I need some ground targets and AAA defences simobjects to place somewhere, so that I'll attack them with my AI flight (say a WWII scenario). How I place the various simobjects for the scenario ?...

There is a "sweet" (and relatively easy) method to achieve that without the need of any other program to place the simobjects, but needs a bit of you to work for making the scenario. You can associate a saved .FLT file (a saved flight of yours that you can load from FSX's UI) with an .XML file (that contains the info of the positions of the various simobjects). You can also edit the description of the Flight, so you don't have to remember what it does and what is for.

In this case, you just load the flight from FSX main Free flight screen, you run FSCAI and you're good to go... even from a carrier's deck if you have moved on board your plane and saved the flight (carrier is spawned by the associated .XML file).

This works in FSX. About P3D, I don't know, I haven't tried that. See the full info & a video tutorial about this method

here : www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php/108666-quot-How-to-quot-SimObjects-in-saved-FLT-(Free-Flight)

3. "How to" : Multiple AI opponents in Free Flight with FSCAI

I've made a video tutorial about this, here : www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvAngnCM2Tg 

Basically it's the above mentioned method, concerning Aircrafts in this case. Just a vACMI teaser of a 4 vs 4 dogfight !... :

EDIT : Remember that both entries (atc_type= & atc_model=) needed at [General] section of an Aircraft's.cfg file, for FSCAI to 
identify & assign to a Team.

1. Save a Flight in FSX (that defines your starting flight parameters)

2. Define the starting positions of hostile AIs (spawn points), by using either a.) Google maps or b.) info of SLEW mode in FSX
and keep a record of them.

3. Edit provided .XML file with AI positions from above step

4. Associate saved .FLT file with above .XML file (to read AI positions from) adding at the end of .FLT file this section :

[ResourcePath]
Path=flights\other\
[ObjectFile]
File=Name_of_your_XML_file              (eg. File=3xAI_WWII_opponentsFSCAI )


5. Run FSCAI, choose Era and your Team. Load saved Flight from main FSX UI & fly. Good shooting.


.XML Download Link

4a. FSCAI Missions : First tip: If you're wanting to find and fly combat-type missions in the FSCAI missions system the aircraft you're in must be "combat-capable" or you won't see them.
This means that the atc_model in the aircraft.cfg must be in the vehicles database, or one of the models listed in the 'Combat.cfg' file that's in the FSCAI\Config folder.
This may mean you need to either add a new entry to the database, or to the 'Combat.cfg' file, or change the atc_model in your aircraft.cfg to match one that's already there.
Once that is done and they match, you'll see the combat missions.

4b. FSCAI Missions : Second tip: If you aren't seeing the missions you want, or are just curious, if there's an option to "Show Ineligible Missions" on the selection menu it means there are missions at that airport you're not seeing for some reason. The 'Show Ineligible Missions' will tell you the reason. If some say "Requires combat-capable aircraft" you have the problem mentioned above and can fix it as described above.

[Dutch Owen]

Thanks for this! I'm sure we'll add many more of these as wisdom accumulates.

Note I put up a long post about how the AI makes its decisions - I think you'll be interested.

Dutch

[xpel]

Update in 1st post : How to have multiple AI opponents in Free Flight with FSCAI.

[xpel]

Dutch,

Checking again in the manual the way FSCAI assigns Teams to simobjects (atc_model), I can't understand 
why BF109s are not assigned to "Axis" team and instead Team tab says "None". Any Ideas ?... I'm talking 
about spawning AIs with the .xml method in Free flight.

Same problem I had with F-102s when staring airborn. Though their atc_model was declared in "THK" team, they were team "None" 
if starting airborn. I had th have them taking off from a Turkeys airport to be assigned in team THK. This worked. 
So it seems that a) atc_model doesn't "override" the ICAO based method of selection & b) atc_model doesn't work 
for assigning an aircraft automatically to a team.

All tests performed with your first FSCAI version.

[Dutch Owen]

atc_model should always override all other methods of assigning to a team. This is quite likely just a bug in the code. I'll try it tomorrow and see if I can reproduce it.

Dutch

[xpel]

Don't bother, my bad. It's just the fact that apart of atc_model, atc_type also has to be declared in 
a plane's Aircraft.cfg for FSCAI to identify it. Added atc_type=BF109 also at [General] category becides 
atc_model=BF109, and now I have my Axis/Allies teams and all AIs engage properly. Thank's.

This is something mentioned inside Teams configuration files but not in FSCAI documentation that I 
followed. Please keep in mind to mention this also in your pdf documentation.

[denisgerard]

good to know thanks

[Dutch Owen]

Some important tips that're easy to miss and can add to frustration.

First tip: If you're wanting to find and fly combat-type missions in the FSCAI missions system the aircraft you're in must be "combat-capable" or you won't see them.

This means that the atc_model in the aircraft.cfg must be in the vehicles database, or one of the models listed in the 'Combat.cfg' file that's in the FSCAI\Config folder.

This may mean you need to either add a new entry to the database, or to the 'Combat.cfg' file, or change the atc_model in your aircraft.cfg to match one that's already there.

Once that is done and they match, you'll see the combat missions.

Second tip: If you aren't seeing the missions you want, or are just curious, if there's an option to "Show Ineligible Missions" on the selection menu it means there are missions at that airport you're not seeing for some reason. The 'Show Ineligible Missions' will tell you the reason. If some say "Requires combat-capable aircraft" you have the problem mentioned above and can fix it as described above.

Dutch