Vortex pilot requests

General Discussions
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First of all I would like to thank the NAK staff for running this server. I’ve planted hours into both the Atlis and Malden servers, and I have enjoyed every moment of it, and will soon be making a donation.

However I have a few requests that I think could improve vortex pilots’ experience on the server:

(i) Reduction of respawn time for the Xi’an;
(ii) Allow for flares and missiles to be deployed over bases and spawn spots;
(iii) Restrict access to the Hemitt and Bobcat to Vortex pilots/ATC only;
(iv) Addition of another Xi’an or replacement of the Blackfish [vehicle transport] (BVT)to a Blackfish [Infantry transport] (BIT).

(i) Reduction of respawn time for Xi’an
Due to the change in location of both the USS Freedom and the Infantry spawn, it has become an arduous task to transport allies to the various AOs on Atlis; often negating the role of a transport helo pilot, because most players resort to halo-ing into the AO, as they can’t be bothered to wait for transport. Since the Infantry spawn change the only viable solution that i have found to provide a quick transport service, has been to use either the Xi’an or the Blackfish. Currently the respawn time for a xi’an is 30 mins (or there about) :shock: . In my opinion, and the opinion of some other vortex pilots, this is far too long. Where the wipeout, neophron and other transport helos, which are used more frequently, have far less of a respawn time; with the former taking around 5-10 mins to respawn. The Xi’an respawn is frustratingly long, especially when the asset is frivolously wasted by an inexperienced vortex pilot. Given the Xi’an’s versatility by being able to provide transport and CAS, and in some cases CAP, in my opinion it is integral to operations particularly on Atlis. Now I am not suggesting that the respawn time should be reduced to 5 mins, but if it were similar to that of the Shikra and other CAP aircraft that would be much appreciated.

(ii) Allow for flares and missiles to be deployed over bases and spawn spots;
Oh boy, where do I begin with this one! :angry: If anything is to be taken on board by the NAK coders, I implore them to please fix this issue. Those of you who frequent the vortex slots on the NAK servers would have surely encountered this issue. Especially since enemy air love to buzz around the main airfield or the USS Freedom, often flying over them in various directions. Now I am no coder, so i cannot purport to know what complexity awaits the NAK coders at attempting to allow flares and missiles to be popped above bases. Moreover I appreciate the need to have the bases as “gun free” zones, as there will always be that “one guy” :imp: . However if it were possible to perhaps have a 50m vertical limit over the bases, this would enable pilots to deploy flares and missiles that would ensure a sufficient and effective CAP service.

(iii) Restrict access to the Hemitt (TOW) and Bobcat to Vortex pilots/ATC only
This request is similar to the previous one in the level of annoyance that it brings. For some unknown mind boggling reason, some players take it upon themselves to go on little road trips in the slowest and arguable least effective vehicles, especially the Hemitt, available on the server; nonetheless i frequently see the Hemitt being driven into the centre of the AO. This is highly frustrating for a vortex pilot to arrive, especially at the infantry base and realise that the bobcat has gone for walkies. Now I am aware that the NAK team have made it so that the bobcats at the main airfield cannot be moved, and I applaud that decision; however I would suggest that the same needs to be done at the infantry HQ and the USS freedom. As today I witnessed an individual, whom was not a pilot, drive the bobcat on the USS freedom to the edge of the ship blocking the main catapult. Why he was doing that only he and his shrink know, because he was either making a poor attempt of trolling or he is just down right “special”. So it would be much appreciated if all of the Hemitts (TOW) and at least the bobcat at the USS freedom and Infantry HQ were restricted to vortex pilots only to use, just like there is a restriction on aircraft. I do not believe that a simple server rules change prohibiting the use of these vehicles will suffice, as players will either not read the new changes, cannot read the new changes, or just will not care.

(iv) Addition of another Xi’an or replacement of the BVT to a BIT
I have used the BVT to attempt to transport players and vehicles to and from the base to various AOs. However I quickly realised that despite its overwhelming size, the BVT is quite frankly inept at its job of transporting vehicles; notwithstanding that it is also inconsistent with the size of vehicle it can transport. With the ability to carry a Marshall and Strider, but not a Hunter or Slammer; with the Marshall being larger than a Hunter. :confused:: The BVT’s usefulness is furthermore nullified when you consider that nearly every helo can lift far more than the BVT, and thus rarely gets used. Furthermore given the ramp door animation being canned by the devs, players are often left perplexed by how to load vehicles on to the BVT, often leading to me having to get out of the pilot seat and either tell them how to do it or to simply do it myself. Nonetheless I’ve slightly digressed, the BVT is probably the least used vehicle in the whole server, with no doubt the Hemitt being used more than the BVT, and that’s saying something. The reasoning behind this request is synonymous with that of the (i), the positioning of the new infantry HQ has made providing an effective transport service taxing. In my opinion implementing either another Xi’an or, probably a more suitable option, replacing the BVT to a BIT would be more of an appropriate asset for the server. With the BIT having 20+ seats for infantry; the option for those said infantry to parachute out; and its ability to fly 500+kph, makes the BIT posses the characteristics of being an ultimate transport vehicle.

Summary (TL/DR)
(i) Xi’an respawn is too long and should be reduced in line with other CAP vehicles.
(ii) Vortex pilots should be able to deploy flares and fire missiles above bases, in order to fight enemy CAP.
(iii) Players like to take the drive the Hemitt and bobcat to the AO, and this is frustrating for vortex pilots when they come to use these vehicles. Therefore should be restricted to vortex pilots only.
(iv) replace the BVT with a BIT to provide effective transport.

Thanks again to the NAK team for providing such a top quality server. Hopefully my requests can be considered for future server implementations. Apologies for the long essay like post.

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In my opinion, it is a good request especially the restriction for the HEMITT and the Bobcat. Deploying flares in the airbase should seriously considered, as we know that enemy jets are often seen in the airbase.

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I will quickly answer you questions, but be aware we will discuss your concerns.

(i) will consider lowering the spawn time, but the Xian is very OP in the right hands, that was the original reason for the extended respawn.
(ii) We added the no fire zones at all spawns due to all the new players after the christmas rush. We will adjust when the fire rate a base reduces. Unfortunately Arma does not differentiate between flares and other weapons. If we wrote our own script to detect type of weapon being used, it would have a considerably negative effect on FPS.
(iii) This has a negative effect on FPS. We are considering other options to prevent drive offs.
(iv) Another Xian is not in the cards. The Xian is a very OP vehicle in the right hands, and would unbalance the game between air and ground. The selection spawning of the BVT or BIT is random every respawn on the vehicle.

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Btw Flares can be deploy inside all 3 safe zone

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How about not allowing infantry to use the flagpole to go to airbase, that way we can make sure that the airbase only consist of pilots, thus disabling the no fire zones in the airbase can be applied. This technique can also be applied to the USS Freedom. For those that managed to be in the vortex pilot slot and doing troll stuff can be easily kicked/ban as they must be present in the teamspeak. This method can be used effectively as the infantry base in the far north corner and the airbase at the center. The infantry would most likely not to drive their way to the airbase just to troll.

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This would not stop players from going there they can easily halo to the location. Second anytime that you have a script that is selective , meaning it has to decide who is accessing the element the script is on, it slows done the server.

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@VileAce

(i)I agree the xi’an can be rather OP. Perhaps if there was a way of disabling the dynamic load out on the xi’an to negate its CAS/CAP potential, like there is no dynamic load out ability on award aircraft. Will this cause FPS problems if you do that?

(ii) @claws01 I think, or least have experienced, only being able to deploy one set of flares before the pop up box appears. Thus impeding any other attempt of deploying flares there after, most Shikras do not play around when trying to take you down and having the box pop up after one deployment, often means certain death. The point I was trying to get at in my (ii), was if it were possible to have a vertical limit on the no fire zone restriction. Just as there is a horizontal limit to the fire zone is there a possibility of doing this vertically?

Alternatively, although this does give more power to vortex pilots, perhaps only allow vortex pilots to be able to fire in the safe zones. This would also deal with the issue of not being able to fire missiles over bases as well. I have had to halo drop out of the fire zone to take down an enemy CAP before and the run back wasn’t fun. :frowning:

Another alternative could be perhaps to bring back the cheetahs to the airfield and the Freedom, and maybe do the same thing of fixing it in place like the bobcats at the airfield. Although this would mean that the cheetah would have to be placed next to the bobcat on the airfield to enable it to rearm. Tbh I am unaware of the reasoning behind removing them in the first place, was this due to the usual crowd being immature and griefing?

(iii) Fair enough, and i appreciate the fact that you are keeping FPS in mind when making your decisions, and my GPU and CPU are grateful. :laughing:

(iv)Yeah I understand that another xi’an would be a stretch, plus it would kind of look weird having two at base, notwithstanding the fact that two xi’ans in the hands of good pilots would make ground work more or less redundant. That being said I am pleasantly surprised to hear that the blackfish spawns like that, as it is a favourite of mine, its just a shame that the BVT is that useful.

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Also just a further note on no fire zones. i have noticed that you can fire in certain places at infantry HQ and the airfield already. I am not sure if that is a one off, but today one player was attempting to shoot at planes landing at the airfield near the bobcat at 22R.

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The no fire zones are calculated based on a distance from a specific marker, normally the spawn point.

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