[Code] Fast Roping Workshop

[j0g32]

oh come on...

Guys, listen:

Hjid is trying to get away from the "old-fashioned" GrapplingHook. He is going to find a way to use "animations" and "animated-objects" instead ! And me for myself, I absolutely have to agree that this is will be a functionally working possibilty of how to add the fastrope-feature to BF2 !

In order to check the altitude of the chopper, I don't think a heightmap would be helpful. Better use "dummy-projectiles" (if it was possible the way Hjid suggested) or add kinda "dummy-GLTD"

[Hjid]

I'm not sure if you actually can shoot a zipline out of a vehicle. I think you have to touch the ground to be able to shoot it.

I finally got the ropes rigged and I'm now trying to make a proper animation for them.

animated rope, kinda - Xfire Video

[CCCode]

Great! Now u need to add something like that to the BH and make it do an animation on keypress? Or u gonna do a dummyweapon that got the final anim as fire animation?

[Hjid]

I was thinking of adding them to invisible vehicles and spawn them by python when you change weapon in the BH. That way you can check if they are allowed to deploy the ropes before they actually drop them

If they were used as weapon animations the helis could drop them everywere, glitching into buildings/terrain and stuff like that.

[j0g32]

I think you should try to get the original PR-python-codes (not compiled)

how about tweaking the ReallyPoint\FOB\Sandbags-Deploy code for spawning objects ?!

[=]H[= JakCurse]

You know, I was pondering the whole fastropes thing, and I came to the conclusion that if indeed it's practically impossible via coding means, would it be possible by representative means? Before I continue, by representative i'm referring to how surpressive effect on your HUD is representative of being pinned down and fearful for your life, and how Taliban breeching shotguns are representative of them smashing the door down, etc.
Well, would an option for representativeness be to allow players no fall damage if they fall < a certain height from the blackhawk? I'm no coder, but I'd like to think there's a way it could work. It's not sliding down ropes, but damn, it's close. It'd at least fill the void in the timebeing.

[Arnoldio]

Well yeah, its a workaround...

[j0g32]

I think the rope could work like that:



So we'll have 3 different objects:

the pilot-activated - "DEPLOY-COMMAND" (via Commorose) will make python spawn the "animated" rope object (1). It's just the same as the oilpump-static but it's representing a rope being thrown out of a chopper.
the animation will take several seconds to be finished but then it would repeat itself and start again and again from the beginning. Just have a look at Hjid's xfire video, just like that.
In order to prevent such a repeating python also has to start a timer wich counts until the animation has finished. After it's timed out, the rope will be deleted and replaced by another rope object, wich is "static" (2). Now the passengers should get a "message" (these orange ones wich tell you e.g. "Try again in a few seconds" etc.) so they all know the rope is ready tu use (=>Fastroping)
After the squad as left the chopper entirely the pilot can drop the ropes and get "unfreezed".
So the "DROP-COMMAND" will delete the static-rope and replace it by another "animated"-rope-object (3) wich shows the drop down animation.
Another timer will make sure that this animated objects gets deleted after finishing its animation.

That's it...

[CCCode]

Yea just insert that dummy vehicle thingy Hjid got in mind and we got FRs!!!

[Imchicken1]

If this actually works in the end, there's going to be alot of "i told you so" and "you lied to us!" 's directed towards the devs =P

[Z-trooper]

We don't say that it won't work.

We just don't want to spend time making a (bug free implementation of a) feature so you can exit a chopper a few meters of the ground instead of landing... we have better things to do tbh.
Besides, fastroping not something that every soldier does, it is more of a spec ops thing which PR is definitely not about.

[Sniperdog]

If you do it with an animation how do you plan on keeping it pointed towards the ground? (off the top of my head i would think you could attach it to a rotation bundle but sadly we don't have perfect stabilization )

[j0g32]

Wich "animation" do you mean ?
the rope's one will be setup as kinda "staticobject" (see oilpumps)

And me for myself I'd make the players do that "slide-down-movement" via animation as well !
How about a modifcated "animation-system" ? I was thinking about adding a dummy handheld-weapon to the passenger next to the rope just like this:

As a lot of weapons use huge animationsystems including scope/zoom-animations I came to the idea that such a "zoom"-animationsystem needn't only affect the head (e.g. closing one eye while aiming down the sights) and the position of the hands. Furthermore it could include the whole body ! (better said all the "bones").
So in the end, the resulting animationsystem belonging to the dummy weapon would include a zoom animation that looks like the soldier was grabbing in the air (in fact, exactly there, where later the rope will be deployed) and then sliding down along the rope. I hope you can imagine what I mean.

However, Im not a coder, nor animator (up to now...) so I can't promise that this is realizable that way...
Maybe it would be easier to modify sth. like a mounted 50cal. "duck"-animation instead ?!

Let's suppose we somehow got it working and the character-animation could be "activated" by clicking "RMB"/"Ctrl" or anything similar. In my opion it would still lack the "connection/link between visual effect (animation) , the code (python) and of course the 'engine' itself (player bails out of the helicopter)"

So, I need some feedback of coders and animators in how far wich of these aspects were doable or not
Thanks
All the best

j0g32

[ytman]

If you have to freeze the helicopter... couldn't someone exploit that?

Now it wouldn't help them.... but imagine an helicopter hovering sideways with wires coming out....


Goodluck!

[j0g32]

yes, you're right ... so, we need to check the correct "position" of the chopper:

-altitude (=> buildings!)
-speed
-rotation (?)

I think by checking the speed (~0 km/h) we prevent checking how much the helicopter was leaning sideways because that would lead to movements wich also increase the speed...

[Hjid]

Yeah we will need to check the height, speed and rotation of the heli before it is allowed to deploy the ropes.
I believe that you will need a lot of practice before you can use the ropes effective as a pilot, knowing how to hover near perfect.

[Imchicken1]

I think there could be a little problem with needing to hover near perfectly..

Not only would it draw alot of attention, but it would make the chopper a really easy target

[Adriaan]

I think there could be a little problem with needing to hover near perfectly..

Not only would it draw alot of attention, but it would make the chopper a really easy target

A chopper always draws alot of attention (even if you can't see it you'll still hear it from miles away) and even if you wouldn't have to hover near perfectly, you'd still have to keep the heli at the same spot long enough so everyone could slide down the ropes, wether the heli is hovering normally, vertically or upside down.

[Imchicken1]

What i was trying to get at is that chopper pilots will probably rather put their chalk down a couple keypads away rather than wait the extra 3 seconds to stop and hover, and the x amount of time for the soldiers to rope down

[j0g32]

I thought, we had been discussing that thousands of times, right ?!

We're trying to find a way... and the question in how far "fastropezz" would be useful is not the point...


so, back to topic:
1. It's up to the pilot wether and when to deploy the ropes, or not !

2. Hovering is indeed necessary while letting the troops down. And in order to avoid glitches, bugs and abuse of the fastropes, we were thinking about freezing the helicopter and make him stick in the air !
In addition to the fact that the pilot doesn't have to concentrate on holding straight any more, the miniguns could be used more effectively against aproaching dangers from the ground (cuz it's easier to aim)...

btw Hjid, how far have you come ?

edit: did someone edit their post ?!