[1.1] BDArmory v0.11.0.1 (+compatibility, fixes) - Apr 23

[sumghai]

Hey BahamutoD, we've been wanting to attach turrets to turrets, but what about modular turret parts (static guns and some rotors). The rotors get linked to a gun and then they attempt to move to face the gun at the target.

As nice would that be, that would (once again) require the Infernal Robotic-style vessel rebuilding algorithim to be built into BD Armory, which is no easy feat.

[TUKE]

hey is there any way to use ripple functionality? i have the rpm of my 23missile rocket pods set to 1440 or something similiar, yet i cant hold down the 2 button to fire, which is my action key for the weapon manager to fire. is there a trick or something to use ripple fire?

Stupid Q, did you arm it? Because the ripple only works if you arm it.

[Supergamervictor]

Has anyone report about a memory leak? is that the proper word?

Anytime I right click the AI Module or the guard or the adjustable landing gear in the vab, it just lags a whole lot to 1-3 frames.Is it mod conflict?

Edited June 24, 2015 by victor tan

[wulf899]

Hey all,

are there any standard craft files which are provided for this (like bombers, fighters etc.) in other threads? Knowing I'd be terrible at building my own fighter replicas, I'd rather utilise the skills of other, better people.

[Guest]

If you are interested in military craft with BDA, have a look at my Rocket Builders company Kerbal Military Engineering (link in my sig). We have lots of interesting stuff there. [/shameless advert]

[Scoundrel]

I asked Baha that some time ago, and in his own words "I may differentiate between radar and IR later but I'm trying to keep it fairly simple until I find a gameplay reason for changing it. As I mentioned in a post, if its possible to generate structured missions, I might add these extra things for balance."

Expanding the mod to include EW would open the door to all sorts of possibilities and fun. The down side is that it would require the implementation of both visual detection and EW into the mod, but it's quite doable (I have most of the maths already) with the right modder (which is not me - I don't do coding).

The first step is to create five acquisition states for targets: padlocked (for visual); good tone (for IR); tracked (for radar); illuminated - aka locked on - (for radar); or undetected. One could, by being clever, hide opponents from map view unless they were in a non-undetected state, but that might cause problems... so probably a switch that could turn them on and off on map mode would be the most prudent if people wanted hidden enemies.

VISUAL ACQUISITION

This is probably the easiest - determine a maximum range for visual sighting as an arbitrary number. Maybe 5km? or perhaps it's based on craft dimensions? In any event, the big thing will be the visible arc that the pilot (and their WSO/RIO if they have one) can scan. The Mk2 and Mk3 cockpits would obviously be limited to something like the front 120° arc, the Mk1 at 270°, and the Mk1 inline would be 360°. We could get really silly with the sightlines, so I suggest it be kept simple for now.

IR SYSTEMS

IR is a passive system that, for gaming purposes, would use the difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature of the target craft. The reality is much, much more complicated than that, but it's way beyond the scope of what BD Armory would or should model.

HOW IT WOULD WORK:

IR systems would use the skin temperature (hottest of course) of the target craft against the ambient temperature of the environment to determine its detection range - but only those parts that face the targeting system. Early systems would only be able to target the engine (high temperatures) from the rear quarter, while more advanced systems would be able to detect the craft regardless of arc (all aspect seeker heads can track a craft based on the heat of the leading edge surfaces!) - though again, the engine would be the hottest so rear quarters would have the longest range.

Missiles would have seeker head gimbal limits so angles are important, though most IR seekers have far greater gimbal limits than RH and AH seekers. They also have very short range (less than 20km) compared to radar, but they don't have G limits for detection, so best for close in knife fight.

Flares, which burn really hot, would be used to break good tone and missile acquisitions.

PARTS:

IRSTS - a passive tracking system that the target cannot detect. Some would be narrow detection arc (30°) and only good for high temperatures, while more advanced systems would have as much as 180° arcs and be all aspect (low temperature detection). It's primary purpose is to determine if a target is detected or not, which could be used for gunsights (I address this below).

IRM - a missile with an IRSTS in it, like a Sidewinder or Python. 'nuff said.

Flare Dispenser - a DDS loaded with flares.

RADAR SYSTEMS

Pretty much everyone knows what radar is: an emitter shoots radio waves out and detects the reflections with antenna.

HOW IT WOULD WORK:

A radar would be active and detect targets at ranges as far as 300km - obviously more for AWACS, but probably beyond the scope of the mod. Unless in ACM or boresight mode (which targets the nearest craft automatically), the craft usually must be pulling less than 9g for the radar to track and lock-on (an extremely modern radar such as EPA wouldn't be limited, but we're getting a little too detailed for this discussion).

The player would either switch between ACM and TWS for more advanced radar, or Boresight and Search and Track for earlier radar. Range would vary based on the system (which would also consume electricity based on radar power), and the DJM/AJM (if any) of the target. Note that the tracking (lock on) range of the radar is usually about half that of its search range, though again that depends on the radar set. It usually takes 2-4 seconds to detect a target, depending on the radar set.

ACM - the radar locks on to the nearest unfriendly within the radar's operating limits

TWS - the operator can continue to track targets within the radar's operating limits even while illuminating; and can switch lock-ons between tracked targets.

Boresight - works like ACM but in a very narrow 15°-30° cone

Search and Track - the operator can track multiple targets as TWS, but loses them if the operator locks on to a specific target, so they have to be reacquired after every lock on.

Note: yes we could get into multitargeting and IR UNCAGE and all the other modes, but I think this is as complex as anyone really wants to get.

ECM would include both active (AJM) and deceptive (DJM) jammers which would reduce the effective range of the radar and potentially break lock-ons as well as missile tracking - unless the missile has HOJ (home on jam) capability, in which case AJM makes it easier for the RH/AH missile to hit. Chaff, which is much more effective than ECM, is used to counter both illumination and tracking, as well as missiles.

A RWR would be required to detect enemy radar tracking and illumination (the various audio tones would indicate tracking and illumination states), which should also include (on the more advanced models) a means of targeting radars for anti-radiation missiles.

Finally a missile warning radar (MWR) should be required to detect missile launches and acquisitions.

PARTS:

.5m Radar Nosecone - lower power radars for small planes

1m Radar Nosecone - high power radars

Radar Shock Cone Intake - a shock cone intake with an integrated radar - for MiG fans. Can be of various power radars.

MWR - a small radial radar for detecting missiles. Also an inline variant would be nice

AWACS - because a giant radar dish is a perfectly acceptable accessory for large jets. Now move along, citizen!

RWR - various radial radar warning receivers for detecting radars

AJM - large parts that consumes electricity and actively jams a large area

DJM - small radial parts that send false returns to disrupt tracking radars

Chaff Dispenser - a radial part that spits out chaff.

RHM - a passive radar homing missile that requires a lock-on be constant and within a certain arc. If the lock-on is lost, then the missile loses the target. Sparrows are typical of this type.

AHM - an active homing radar missile - your fire and forget AMRAAM type - because unless we're going to maddog, you need a lock on to fire.

ARM - an anti-radiation missile - a missile that seeks out ground based radars. Typically requires a RWR to launch, and targets radar parts. An essential part of any wild weasel configuration.

GUNSIGHTS

Personally I would love to see funnel/death dot style targeting reticules for undetected/illuminated targets, but that's likely asking for too much. Instead I would propose gunsights be broken up into tiers, something like:

Iron Sights - fixed sights that point straight forward, with no range compensation or lead assist.

Early - an analog radar ranging style gunsight that only takes into account distance (for bullet drop).

Modern - your typical computer assisted lead computing gunsight.

Advanced - these are your integral gun ballistics sights like on the F-18 and other modern aircraft that calculate everything with a much higher degree of accuracy and precision, and use sensor fusion to overcome radar dependency.

I think this pretty much covers everything I can think of off of the top of my head - aside from laser targeting systems, which I’ve neglected since they’re pretty simple. Obviously things need to be fleshed out and better detailed, but this should give people an idea of what would be required and the possibilities it would offer.

[strigon]

How does one rebind the fire button? I can't find it for the life of me!

[MD5Ray01]

So, I've run into a problem with the rockets. I went to ripple-fire them, and only got a single rocket at a time rather than the masses of rockets like it used to.

I tried arming the rockets both by action group (set the "arm weapons" function to the 1 key) and by manually arming them via clicking the "arm" button in the menu for it in flight. Neither one worked.

[Nickvr628]

The new radiator panels work VERY well as armor. Feels rather balanced actually. I tested it and a mk1 fuel tank requires 4 hits to kill with the 50cal turret, but with armor on it the armor does not fail for about 13-15 shots. Start covering your tanks with these!

[TUKE]

Hey all,

are there any standard craft files which are provided for this (like bombers, fighters etc.) in other threads? Knowing I'd be terrible at building my own fighter replicas, I'd rather utilise the skills of other, better people.

Try my current project:

http://kerbal.curseforge.com/shareables/231733-world-war-2-aircraft-for-bd-armoury

[Endersmens]

How does one rebind the fire button? I can't find it for the life of me!

Alt+B will bring up the BDarmory GUI where you can reassign the fire key.

[badboyz31]

Did anyone here tried P.E.W.'s weaponry? these bombs are so sweet!!

And off course, thanks to BDArmory.

And if you want to, feel free to check out my aircraft and demo video:

Edited June 26, 2015 by badboyz31

[Supergamervictor]

There's something wrong with BD AI 8.3. As I mentioned before, right clicking the AI module lags the game a lot.I tested on a vanilla install and it seems the 3.2 version works without lagging the game.Is this an individual problem or has anyone reported this before?

[kerbiloid]

There's something wrong with BD AI 8.3. As I mentioned before, right clicking the AI module lags the game a lot.I tested on a vanilla install and it seems the 3.2 version works without lagging the game.Is this an individual problem or has anyone reported this before?

I have the same problem when FAR is installed. Without FAR all runs nice.

When FAR is in GameData:

1. Switching aircraft's AI on causes significant slideshow. This happens near KSC, not sure whether far away from it too.

2. Using a cruise missile (probably from PEW mode, but not sure until I return to home) causes similar problem. I make a rover with a missile, then select a craft 20 km away as a target. Launching, switching camera to the missile. All runs OK.

But when it arrives to the target (simple command pod and several buildings from KerbalKonstructs), slideshow begins and almost stops the game.

So, as I can understand the problem appears when BD AI (of an aircraft or a missile) is switched on with FAR in GameData near complicated parts (such as buildings).

[badboyz31]

There's something wrong with BD AI 8.3. As I mentioned before, right clicking the AI module lags the game a lot.I tested on a vanilla install and it seems the 3.2 version works without lagging the game.Is this an individual problem or has anyone reported this before?

I get that too, but only for some aircraft which uses a lot of parts (I think, AI still having difficulty in controlling large aircraft with slow response)

I have the same problem when FAR is installed. Without FAR all runs nice.

When FAR is in GameData:

1. Switching aircraft's AI on causes significant slideshow. This happens near KSC, not sure whether far away from it too.

2. Using a cruise missile (probably from PEW mode, but not sure until I return to home) causes similar problem. I make a rover with a missile, then select a craft 20 km away as a target. Launching, switching camera to the missile. All runs OK.

But when it arrives to the target (simple command pod and several buildings from KerbalKonstructs), slideshow begins and almost stops the game.

So, as I can understand the problem appears when BD AI (of an aircraft or a missile) is switched on with FAR in GameData near complicated parts (such as buildings).

Isn't 20 km seems to be a bit far? In my experience, 10-11 km is the max to keep the system going. It could be the physics range limitation (as I recalled it have been mentioned by BahamutoD somewhere before)

[Fuel]

Just tested this and it seems to work correctly in 1.0.3, however, the bomb guidance seems to be a bit hit and miss (pun intended) with the modified drag.

Yep I have some issues as well on 1.0.4, but I am really surprised that such a small update f...d quite a lot of mods, to be honest I do not recall previous small updates to cause so many impacts.

[bartekkru99]

As nice would that be, that would (once again) require the Infernal Robotic-style vessel rebuilding algorithim to be built into BD Armory, which is no easy feat.

What about developing a mouse tracking plugin for IR? I've suggested it few times on their forum thread. I always wanted my turret with 30 hellfires or hydra pods on it without need to use JIKL keys to aim...

[Solarspaceprobe]

Does BDA hit extended ladders?

[Thatdude253]

What about developing a mouse tracking plugin for IR? I've suggested it few times on their forum thread. I always wanted my turret with 30 hellfires or hydra pods on it without need to use JIKL keys to aim...

I was thinking that it might be nice to put things on BD armory turrets (such as Never Enuf Dakka's tanks, or the 30mm CIWS) and actually have them move with the turret

[Boxopotimus]

Is this working for anyone on ksp 1.0.4? I have a fresh install but the mod isnt working. The weapons manager and all other BD Armory parts dont work. When I try to set them up in an action group the part shows up but I cant add any functions. Also when in flight I cant get the normal gui when I right click on the part. It just does nothing. I can right click on the stock parts and the gui will show up but nothing is working for BD Armory. Help?

[unreguler101]

Can I ask how to modify the weapon sounds because I want to make the howitzer turret sound like star wars blasters

[kerbiloid]

Isn't 20 km seems to be a bit far? In my experience, 10-11 km is the max to keep the system going. It could be the physics range limitation (as I recalled it have been mentioned by BahamutoD somewhere before)

No, without FAR it works just fine. I don't change any physical range settings at all.

The target (several Kerbal Konstructs buildings + Mk1 pod) are placed ~20 km from KSC.

Missile starts, flies, follows the terrain, all goes amusing.

But at 5..8 km away from target - when the missile starts active maneuvering (so I presume some AI activates) - if FAR is installed the lagging becomes terrible. Without FAR all goes nice.

[Darren9]

Can I ask how to modify the weapon sounds because I want to make the howitzer turret sound like star wars blasters

I think it's OK to say this, you'll need to open the Howitzer's part.cfg, find the "fireSoundPath = " and edit the sound file that's in the location it points to. The Howitzer for example uses the m1Abrams sound so you'd need to edit "parts/m1Abrams/sounds/shot.wav" and it would change the sound for both weapons.

[curiousepic]

I'd really appreciate a longer droptime and drop speed on HEKVs - there's no reason it should be restricted to 2 seconds and 10 "speed", and that just isn't enough to clear being launched from within some cargo bays, etc. I tried increasing the dropTime in the .cfg but that didn't seem to change anything.

[sumghai]

I was thinking that it might be nice to put things on BD armory turrets (such as Never Enuf Dakka's tanks, or the 30mm CIWS) and actually have them move with the turret

As I explained earlier:

As nice would that be, that would (once again) require the Infernal Robotic-style vessel rebuilding algorithim to be built into BD Armory, which is no easy feat.